Redemption
by ninja writer 17
Summary: Jim has found his way to the Land of Departure! But can he move on and accept these new Keyblade wielders as his friends? Or will his past be too much and overcome him?
1. Chapter 1

The Redemption

A/N: Here it is! Book 2 of my Kingdom Hearts Saga! Thanks, so much to everyone who saw my first book, and I apologize again for how short it was. Rest assured, that will not be the case for this book, or any future books in the series.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I'd have made Union Cross a lot more fun to play.

Chapter 1: Awakening in a New Era

A few days pass in the Land of Departure, and James sits in his room, which was given to him by Eraqus. He still couldn't understand what brought him here.

_Flashback_

_ Master Eraqus gaped, "What!? You were fighting the Keyblade War?" He asks. _

_James nods, "That's the last thing I remember before blacking out." _

_Eraqus hummed to himself for a moment, "As curious as I am, no doubt you have many questions of your own." _

_James nodded, "For starters, what is this place?" _

_Eraqus leans back in his chair slightly, "This is a monastery where I train the new generation of Keyblade Wielders."_

_James raised an eyebrow, "So how many students do you have?" He asks. _

"_I have two wielders under my tutelage. Both Aqua and Terra have shown great promise. As you would." The master states. _

_ James' eyes widened, "Excuse me?" He asks in shock. _

"_I can sense you have conflict in you regarding your Keyblade. I can provide you with the training necessary to overcome your past, which will allow you to embrace your future, and whatever it may hold." He says as he stands up, "However, it is your decision to make. Regardless, you are welcome to stay here as long as you deem necessary." He offered James a slight bow before exiting the room._

_Flashback End_

James had not yet given Eraqus an answer. He wasn't sure what he wanted anymore.

At one time, he was proud to have the Keyblade and used it to protect people. But ever since Ava warned him of the Keyblade War, he had questioned if he was doing the right thing.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door, followed by it opening to reveal a young woman, in her mid-teens, with ocean blue hair, with deep blue eyes. He recognized her as Aqua, when he was introduced to the two students.

Aqua smiled warmly, "Hey, breakfast was served a while ago, but Terra and I never saw you."

James turned himself to have his back to her, "I should think the reason is obvious." He says coldly.

Aqua frowned at this. For whatever reason, James had been determined to avoid herself and Terra in any way possible. She sat in a nearby chair, "If Terra, or myself did something to upset you-."

"It's not you." He says, cutting her off, "I'm just not interested in doing the friend thing anymore."

Aqua dared to move to the bed and sit beside him, causing him to shift away from her, "Why? What happened? Whatever it is, you can trust me. And Terra."

James glanced at her from the corner of his eye, _"She just won't drop this subject."_

He decides to be blunt, "Imagine you were friends with hundreds of Keyblade Wielders. Each of you working towards the same goal: to push back the darkness. Tell me, how does that sound to you?"

Aqua was taken aback by this sudden question, but answered nonetheless, "U-uh, I guess I'd be happy to have so many friends to help me." She tells him.

He nods, "Good. Now close your eyes and picture this; you and many of your friends working together to defeat Heartless and rescue innocent people from the darkness."

Aqua did as instructed and couldn't help the smile on her face, "And then suddenly, one whisper of false preaching's, and suddenly you're attacking each other with intent to kill!"

This statement shocks Aqua's eyes open.

"Imagine being the only one standing at the end! Imagine your home desecrated by a war you helped to start without ever knowing it! Imagine the blood of your friends staining your Keyblade!" Tears were running down his face in streams, while Aqua had tears forming as well. "That's why I don't do friends! Because I was forced to kill them! That's why-!"

His train of thought was completely derailed when Aqua lunged forward and embraced him warmly. "I'm so sorry." She whispers to him, "I had no idea you'd gone through something so terrible. I can't imagine what that must have been like. How hard it was for you."

She pulled back to look him in the eyes, "I understand why you don't want any friends. But if you ever change your mind," she paused to collect herself a bit, "I promise, Terra and I won't let you down. We'd never put you in that kind of situation ever again." She stood up, "I hope you'll at least head over to the training area some time. Terra's been wanting to spar with you since you showed up."

Just before she walked out the door, James called out, "Aqua." She turned to him, "Thanks. It's been a long time since I saw a true, pure hearted Keyblade Wielder. I promise I'll give some thought to this whole…... friend thing." Aqua smiled and nodded her head before leaving.

Suddenly, James had a lot more to think about than just his unfortunate past.

He had met countless Wielders in his time, but none of them had as much genuine care for others that Aqua clearly had. He looked out his window, "I really wish I still had Chirithy. He always helped to keep me focused on what was right." He placed his hand over his heart, "May my Heart be my guiding Key." He then took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

He arrived at the training yard and saw Terra striking a wooden dummy with his Keyblade while Aqua ran an obstacle course. Terra glanced behind him and smiled, "Hey James! Any chance I can get ya to spar with me?" He asks.

James smirks and summons Starlight. "Sure, but one quick thing." He says as he enters his battle stance, "Call me Jim."

Aqua halted her progress on the course to observe the sparring match, and Eraqus had just walked out to do the same.

James leads the battle off with a high jump to land a downward swing, but Terra sees it coming and blocks the attack in a deep and stable stance.

The two stare each other down, and James smirks, "You didn't even budge. Impressive." He tells him.

Terra scoffs, "You haven't seen anything yet!" Terra parries James' Keyblade and makes four strikes towards his opponent, who blocks each one. He then attempts a more power-based diagonal slash, but James ducks his body out of the way, before blocking another strike and beginning to push back. They pushed away from each other and leapt back towards one another, each of them going for a thrust attack, however they collide with each other, sending both Keyblades flying.

Taking advantage of this, Terra goes in with a swift kick to James' midsection, causing the young man to stagger slightly. Terra smirked, "That all you got?" He asked.

James didn't respond verbally, instead he responded by thrusting his open hand towards Terra, "Fira!" He exclaims as a sizeable fireball is shot towards Terra. He raises his arms to block it, but is pushed back by its force. He then charged towards Terra, jumped up, and struck a fierce punch across his face as he landed, knocking Terra to the ground, "I'm just getting started." He says as he summons Starlight back into his hands.

Terra shakes off the attack and calls his own Keyblade as well. "Good. This should be interesting!"

The next thirty minutes went by with James and Terra trading blows ferociously, before exhaustion overcame them both and caused them to collapse on the ground.

James gets to one knee slowly, his breath panting, "Don't tell me… you're… giving up… already…"

Terra lets out a breath that sounded like a laugh and pushes himself up slowly, "You… kidding? I've… just… gotten… warmed up…"

Before the two could pitifully attempt to continue their match, Aqua offered each of them a large bottle of cold water, "I think you too have sparred for long enough." She says, unable to hide her amusement at the two.

Eraqus nodded, "Indeed. You both will want to save your strength. Terra, you have your lessons in the morning." He tells him, causing the teen to groan.

James looks at Eraqus, "Does that class have room for one more… Master?"

Eraqus smiles, "Of course. I welcome you to your new home."

James smiled. He was still worried, but he had faith, thanks to Terra and Aqua. And, for the moment, that was enough.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! We've still got one more to go before we start to really tackle the events of Birth by Sleep's gameplay. I have already chosen how I want to do it, but tell me in the reviews, when the time comes, Jim is going to follow either Terra, Aqua, or Ventus. Let me know which one you want him to go with. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the previous book, and hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of the story as well. Read and Review!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Boy with No Memory

(A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. I fell sick, plus college classes and studying, plus researching for specific moments to use for this chapter, made it all take a lot longer than I meant it to. Hopefully I will be a bit more regular with the coming chapters, but I can't promise anything. Thanks for your patience again.)

A few years pass, and James grew closer and closer with Aqua and Terra. They were like siblings to him, and he to them. Terra and Aqua were now his surrogate family in a way. The three of them always trained together, and were content. James in particular was happy, as he could, once again, use his Keyblade beside friends, rather than against them.

Eraqus had given James access to his own suit of Keyblade Armor. Something that both Terra and Aqua also had. It was a single shoulder plate on his left shoulder, but when activated, it was a full body armor that was pure white, with the sides of his helmet having red streaks on the side, his armor's design was identical to Terra's. Alongside the Armor, he was also given a Key Glider. This was a very difficult adjustment for him, as it gave Starlight the ability to Form Change into a Jetpack that attached itself to his Keyblade Armor's back plating. He struggled for a long time to master Key Glider combat, allowing for several funny memories for Terra and Aqua to hang over his head for years to come.

One morning, Terra and James were having a light sparring match inside the main training hall, while Aqua practiced her magic on the side. The three of them were interrupted when the doors to the Monastery opened wide to reveal a bald, elderly man dressed in black, walking in with a young blonde boy behind him.

James looks over at the old man, "Who's that?" He asks.

Aqua walks up beside him, "I don't know." She answers.

Terra walks up to James' other side, "We've never seen him here before." James nods. Eraqus went up to greet the two and Xehanort said something that seemed important, but they couldn't hear what it was.

Aqua eyed the young boy and noticed that he seemed to be troubled by something. She looked to her friends, "That boy… Is he ok?" She asks.

Terra turns, "I'll go check." He says as he makes his way down to meet the young one.

James eyes the boy curiously, "There's something off about him." He tells Aqua.

She raises a brow, "What do you mean, Jim?"

He hums, "I'm not sure. But he doesn't seem to be…" He pauses, "All there." He finishes.

Terra walks up to the young boy and smiles at him, "I'm Terra. What's your name?"

After a brief silence, the boy finally whispers out, "Ventus."

Terra sighs, "Whew, you can talk." He jokes before turning around and looks up at the other 2, "Aqua! Jim! Come here!" They both smile and rush down.

When they get down, Aqua waves at Ventus, "Hi. I'm Aqua."

James nodded to the boy, "I'm James, but you can just call me Jim."

Ventus slowly looked at all three of them, "Terra… Aqua… Jim…"

Terra then puts a hand to his hip comfortably, "So, are you here to train with us?" He asks. Ventus gives no form of response and Terra decides to ask a few more questions, "Where are you from?"

No answer, and Ventus starts to grit his teeth in pain, "Who was that man with you?"

No answer, and Ventus looked away, his eyes closing, "You good with a Keyblade?"

No answer, but this time, Ventus starts moaning in pain and drops to his knees and clutches his head.

"Whoa are you ok?" Terra asks.

Aqua kneels down, "What's the matter?"

James looks behind him, "I'll get the Master!" He says before running off.

James enters the room suddenly, the bald man eyes him, "Surely you should know better than to barge in on a private conversation!" He says.

James bowed his head, "I'm sorry sir, but there's something wrong with the boy that accompanied you."

The man's eyes widened, "What?!" Without another word, he rushed out the door, with Eraqus and James in tow.

When they returned, Ventus was no better off than when James had left. "What did you do?!" The man says as he hurries to Ventus.

Terra turns to Master Eraqus, "Nothing! I was just asking him some questions!"

Eraqus looked at Terra calmly, "Ventus cannot tell you anything." The group turns their gaze to the boy, who has since, fallen asleep, "Because he cannot remember anything." He finishes.

The old man stands and looks at Eraqus, "Despite my best efforts, I was unable to help him. I believed he would fare better under your care, Eraqus."

The Master nodded, "Of course Xehanort. We shall welcome Ventus into our home."

A few days later and Ventus was laying in his bed asleep, he had not awoken since the incident at his arrival. James, Terra and Aqua all took turns watching after him, in case he woke up. The man named Xehanort, a fellow Keyblade Master and longtime friend to Eraqus, had since left the Land of Departure, leaving all of Eraqus' pupils with questions about him. But none of them were seen as important when compared to their worry for Ventus.

James walked into Ventus' room and saw Aqua gazing worriedly at the boy, "Thought you could use some company." He says, startling her slightly.

Aqua smiles, "It'd be nice to talk to someone who can talk back." She jokes.

He chuckles, "Ya know, it's not unnormal for memory-loss induced comas to last for weeks at a time. He's going to be ok."

Aqua's smile is filled with relief, "Thanks. I appreciate that." A semi-comfortable silence covered the room after that.

Despite the closeness James had with Aqua and Terra, he never told either of them about his past life, mostly because Eraqus had forbade him from doing so. Eraqus said that he had knowledge that is meant to be forbidden from even himself, never mind his students. Eraqus also made it clear to James, after Xehanort left, that Xehanort must never learn of his past under any circumstances. He didn't understand why, but chose to trust in his new Master.

Aqua looked at James, "You know, I'm really glad you decided to open up to Terra and I. It's been a lot more fun with three of us, rather than just two."

James smiled, "Yeah well, when Ven here wakes up, it'll be four."

Aqua smirks, "Ven?" She repeats.

James nodded, "Yeah! A friendly nickname. It might help him feel more at home here."

Aqua rolled her eyes, "I don't think that's gonna catch on."

Jim tilts his head, "Well ya never know." He says as he stands up, "I'm gonna go grab some lunch. See ya in a bit."

Aqua nodded, "Ok. See you."

After about another hour, and Aqua was still watching over the sleeping boy, "Ventus, why won't you wake up?" She asks. Just as she turned to walk out of the room, Ventus began to stir and moan in his bed, Aqua turned to look as he slowly started to open his foggy eyes.

He slowly sat up as Aqua kneeled down in front of the bed, "You're awake! Ventus, oh, it's a miracle!" She then rushed to just outside the door and shouted down the hall, "Terra! Jim! Master Eraqus! Ventus is awake!" Terra quickly rushed in with James not far behind.

They all looked at him with joy on their faces. Ventus looked at the three of them, "Terra… Jim… Aqua…"

James nods, "That's us! The awkward Keyblade trio!" He says jokingly.

Terra laughs and puts Jim in a headlock, "Who ya calling awkward, buddy?" He asks with joking sarcasm.

James pretends to be choking, "Gah! Can't… breathe! Save me!" He cries out dramatically, looking to Aqua.

She simply giggles, "You two are such-."

She is interrupted, as well as the other two, by a small laugh from Ventus, that slowly grows into a hearty laugh. Terra and James smile as they let go of each other.

At this moment, Eraqus walks into the room, and his three students back up and give the Master space to speak, "Welcome Ventus. I'm sure you have questions." The boy nodded his head, "I will be happy to answer any and all questions I am able. Until then, I'm sure you must be famished. So, we will speak later."

A few short years later, and Ventus is perfectly at home in the Land of Departure. He wound up liking the idea of Ven being his nickname, so Terra, Aqua and James always called him Ven. James was currently sparring with Ventus in the courtyard.

James leapt over one of Ventus' attacks and landed behind the boy with a smirk, "C'mon Ven! You'll have to do better than that!"

Ventus smirked and gripped his Keyblade, "Oh I'm just getting started Jim!" They exchanged blows a little longer before James suggested they call it a day.

As they walked back, James looked towards Ventus, "So, tomorrow's the day that Terra and Aqua go for the Mark of Mastery Exam. How do you feel?" He asked him.

Ventus smiled, "I'm excited! I can't wait to see them both pass!"

James laughed happily, but gave no further answer. He decided to omit to Ventus that he also had the opportunity to take the Mark of Mastery Exam, but refused. He no longer cared about being a Master. He just wanted to enjoy his days with his friends. And he was doing just that.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Thank you so much for your awesome reviews! It really does help to inspire me to make these chapters faster so I can make you guys happy. I've gotten some votes on who James goes with. So far, the score is Aqua- 2, Terra and Ventus- 0. This is your last chance. If ya want him to go with Terra, Aqua or Ven, let me know in either a review, or a PM. Either way, please be sure to write a review and tell me what you think. And remember to favorite and follow so you never miss an update on James' epic adventures! You guys are awesome, and I'll see ya later.)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Now and Forever

(A/N: SORRY! I know I'm late again! I had three exams to study for, on top of a bunch of chores that I had been putting off. I think I'm just gonna start trying to post on the weekends, as I have more availability on those days, and thus, more time to work on this. Anyways, this was originally gonna be the chapter that ended the poll, but I decided not to make this one be insanely long, so you still have time to put your votes in! Right now, Aqua holds a universal lead, and I'm glad she does. You guys have made some excellent points and I love the suggestions you give me. We fanfic authors truly are as good as those who review, so make sure ya do so. If you'd rather James go with Terra, or Ventus, leave your vote in the reviews along with any ideas, suggestions, or whatever you want to include. You guys are awesome for being patient with me, and I hope to do better for you guys in the future. Now I'll promptly shut up so you can enjoy the story.)

It was the night before Aqua and Terra would take their Mastery Exams, and James found sleep unmanageable tonight. So instead, he lounged about by his window when he spotted some stray falling stars. He smiled to himself _"Don't see this too often. I wanna check it out."_ He then hops from his bed and makes his way over to the spot that the four of them go to sit and just enjoy each other's company. When he arrived, he spotted Ventus already laying on the grass and enjoying the view. He smirked, "Couldn't resist it either, eh Ven?" He asked as he sat down beside him.

Ventus chuckled, "Yeah. It's just so cool!" He says before looking back up at the stars, "Say Jim. How many worlds have you been to? Aside from this one, obviously." He asked.

Jim raised an eyebrow but answered honestly, "Seven. Why do you ask?" He wonders.

Ventus shrugged, "I've just been so curious what other worlds are like for the longest time." A brief silence passed before Ventus spoke up, "Why does this seem so…familiar?" He asked to no one in particular.

Jim eyed his friend curiously, _"Strange… This is the first meteor shower he's seen here, and he has no memories of life before coming here. I wonder, are his memories starting to come back?"_

Given how long Ventus has been with them, he knew his theory was somewhat absurd, but he also knew that absurd things always happen to those who wield the Keyblade, so he assumed anything to be possible.

He turned to ask Ventus what he meant, but when he looked at the boy, James discovered that he had fallen asleep. He couldn't resist the slight chuckle and chose to simply stargaze alone, _"Maybe it's because my Keyblade is named Starlight, but I always feel calm when I look up at the stars. I wonder why."_

A half hour passes and James hears footsteps approaching from behind. He turns and smiles to see that it's Aqua, "Shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked her lightly.

Aqua let out a laugh as she smiled back, "I could say the same to you two. It's getting awful late."

James chuckles, "True, but we don't have the Mark of Mastery Exam tomorrow. So Ven and I can be as lazy as we want." He says before standing up.

The commotion apparently roused Ventus from his sleep. He sat up, but saw nothing around him, so he simply yawned and fell back down to the floor. At this moment, he saw Aqua, kneeling over him with an amused smile on her face.

This startles Ventus back to a sitting up position, "Whoa!" He exclaims, earning a giggle from Aqua. Ventus smiles, "Gimme a break, Aqua."

James smirked, "We could, but where's the fun in that?" He says with a chuckle.

Aqua straightens her standing position, "Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead." She scolds him playfully, "Ya know, you should've at least brought a blanket." She then looks to James, "That goes for both of you!"

James rolls his eyes and gives a half-hearted salute, "Ma'am yes Ma'am." He says sarcastically.

Ventus looked down, seemingly ignoring James' remark, "But- Did I dream that place up?" He mumbled, "It really felt like I'd been there before… looking up at the stars…"

Aqua ruffles his hair, "Except you've always lived here with us." She tells him.

Since he had no memories of life before the Land of Departure, Master Eraqus decided they shouldn't mention that Ventus ever lived elsewhere. The idea didn't quite sit well with James, but he trusted Eraqus' judgement.

He walks over and pats Ventus on the shoulder, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you won't be up on one of those stars someday. Just gotta be patient, Ven."

Ventus hangs his head slightly, "Yeah…" after a short pause, he looks up to his two friends, "I know." He says with a smile.

The three of them walk over to the edge and sit down. Aqua to the right of Ventus, and James to the right of Aqua. Ventus looks over to his blue haired friend, "Hey Aqua? Y'ever wonder what stars are? Where light comes from?"

James smirked, Ventus often reminded him of many friends he had in his past life at Daybreak Town. All of them curious about the existential part of being a Keyblade wielder.

Aqua looks away, "Hmm…" She then looks up to the sky, "Well they say-."

"That every star up there is another world." Says Terra as he walks up from behind them. The three look to the fourth member of their friend group.

"Terra." Aqua greets warmly.

Terra smiles, "Yep. Hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own."

James nods, "True. But, when you stop to look at them, you come to realize that they're not all that different from one another." He says, "Sure they all have different places and kinds of people. But at the end of the day, they're all the same. And they're all connected together. Even if they don't know it."

Terra moves forward to sit on the left of Ventus, "The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."

Ventus looked at Terra, completely lost, "What? I don't get it." He says.

Terra's smile softens slightly, "In other words, they're just like you, Ven." He tells him.

Ventus looks at him, "What does THAT mean?" He asks.

"You'll find out someday, I'm sure." Terra answers.

Ventus began to bicker with Terra about the subject, causing James and Aqua to start laughing. Terra glances over at them, "Hey, what are you two laughing at?" He asks.

Aqua smiles widely, "We can't help it. You two would make the weirdest brothers." She says between laughs.

James launches his shoulder around her, "Well we learned it all from our weird sister." He says, earning him a playful shove from Aqua in return. Meanwhile, Terra and Ventus just look on at the two completely lost as Aqua and James continue laughing. Soon enough, all four of them end up laughing together.

James looks at the three of them, _"Aqua's right. We would make a weird family. But I wouldn't have it any other way."_

Sometime pass, and the four of them are sitting together, looking up at the stars again. Aqua's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh yeah!" She exclaims, "Terra, you and I have our Mark of Mastery exams tomorrow." She says as she walks back a little way to look at the other three at once, reaching for something in her back pocket, and pulls out four star-shaped charms with a rope hanging off each of them. One blue, another being a light brown, the third one was green, and the final one was purple. "I made us good luck charms." She says with a smile. She passes the brown one to Terra, the green one to Ventus, and the purple one to James.

She looks to James, "Sorry about the color, it was the only one I had left to work with."

James looks at it and smiles, "Don't worry about it. I'll always treasure this…. uh…...this…. thing." He says, causing Aqua to let out a laugh.

Ventus looks at his, "Wow! I get one too?"

Aqua smiles, "Of course. One for each of us." She says as they all hold their charms in front of them while standing in a small circle. Aqua looked back to the stars, "Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit…" She tells them, "and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection." She turns away and walks forward a few steps, "So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it," she looks at her charm fondly, "nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other."

She then turned back to the three, smiling shyly, "Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells," she says a small laugh, "but I did the best with what I had."

Terra rolled his eyes, "Oy, sometimes you are such a girl." He says plainly.

This statement causes James to let out a loud laugh, "Ha! Gee, maybe that's because she IS a girl?" He says rhetorically.

Aqua eyed Terra, "Hey! What do you mean 'sometimes?'" She asks.

As this is happening, Ventus looks down at his charm, "So this isn't a real good luck charm?"

James smiles and places a hand on Ventus' shoulder, "Of course it is, Ven! It takes more than seashells to make something a good luck charm. Besides, as long it's important to you, it'll be lucky enough."

Aqua walks close to her group of friends, "Well, that's yet to be seen. But I did work a little magic on it." She tells them.

Ventus' eyes light up, "Really? What?"

Aqua smiles brightly at him and holds up her charm, "An unbreakable connection." She answers as she holds her charm up to the sky.

James smiles, "I've heard about the story Aqua told us. It says these charms are called Wayfinders. Because they always bring you a friend when you lose your way." He tells them.

Aqua, Ventus and Terra all put their Wayfinders in their pocket, but James puts his around his neck, allowing the charm to hang directly next to his heart, "If I wear it this way, you guys will always be close to my heart!" He says happily.

Terra scoffs, "Ok, I take it back. Jim, sometimes YOU are such a girl." He tells him jokingly, getting a laugh from everyone.

Aqua calms herself down, "Well I think it's kind of sweet. Don't worry, Jim. The three of us got your back. Now and forever." She assures him.

She still, to this day, doesn't truly know what life was like for him before the Land of Departure, but she knows that he developed friend issues because of it. So, she went out of her way to always make sure he knew he could count on any one of them there.

After a brief four-way sparring match, Ven looked at Terra and Aqua, "Trust me. You guys are ready. You're gonna clean up at the exam tomorrow." He says confidently.

James nods, "He's right. This time tomorrow, you'll both be Masters!"

Terra laughs, "I hope it's that easy."

Aqua nodded, "It's like the Master says, power is born within the heart." She tells them, "When the time is right, you just need to look inside yourself, and you'll find it there."

After that, the four of them said their goodnights to one another, and went back to their rooms. James lays atop his bed, clutching the Wayfinder in his hand softly as thinks about how Aqua said they'd always have his back, "You say that now Aqua. But I wonder… when darkness challenges us all. Will we still be a team? Now and forever?"

He glances out his window, "I certainly hope so. I don't want to lose another friend.

(That's it for this chapter! Once again, this is your last chance to get your votes in! Thanks again for being so patient, and I'll see you guys on the next update.)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Mark of Mastery Exam Gone Awry

(A/N: Late again! I know and I'm sorry! But this one took a lot longer to make than I expected. Especially figuring out what to do with the Exam itself. Anyways, I will not be updating this weekend, I have family matters to attend to. But rest assured, that next weekend, you should have your update-theoretically. Have I mentioned that you guys are awesome? Cause you are! The poll is closed and the votes are in! It is a unanimous vote for Aqua! But this makes me curious…. What about? Read until the end and find out. I've kept you waiting long enough as it is!)

The day has come. Aqua and Terra stand in the grand hallway, with Ventus and James standing to the side as observers. Eraqus sat in the farthest left chair, while Xehanort-who came to assist in grading the two's performances- on the farthest right chair, leaving the middle chair empty. Ventus glanced over at Xehanort, who in turn, was looking at Ventus as well. A suspicious smile graced his lips, and Ventus was made visibly uncomfortable. James nudged him to get his attention, and offered him a friendly grin. Ventus returned it, instantly relaxing, as Eraqus proceeded to start.

He stepped forward and looked at Terra and Aqua, "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates…" He pauses, "but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy-not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither." Another brief pause, "But I am sure our guest, Master Xehanort…" he glances to the other Master, "did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark." Xehanort offers a slight bow of his head in response. Eraqus faces the two once again, "I trust you are ready."

The two answer in sync, "Yes!"

Eraqus summoned his Keyblade, "Then let the examination begin." He used his magic to summon five orbs made of light. Aqua and Terra drew their Keyblades and prepared to fight, while Ventus was excited to see his two friends take the test.

James watched carefully. He never had the opportunity to aim for the rank of Keyblade Master before, and was curious-more academically than anything else- as to what kind of trials await someone who seeks the Mark of Mastery.

Suddenly, however, a strange dark aura began to shroud the orbs of light, and they started moving around frantically and multiplying. Terra and Aqua wasted no time and immediately moved to attack the orbs.

One of the orbs went straight for Ventus and James, "Ven!" Aqua called out.

"Jim!" Terra shouted.

Fortunately, Ventus and James were quick to respond as they both drew their Keyblades and cross-slashed the orb. "Don't worry about us!" Ventus says, "You two focus on the exam!"

James nodded, "He's right. We can protect ourselves, we'll be just fine."

Aqua eyes the two, "But guys, you're in danger here! Go wait in your rooms!"

James considered heeding Aqua's instruction, but Ventus was having none of it. "No way!" He responds, gripping his Keyblade tighter, "I've been looking forward to this-seeing you two become Masters. I'm not gonna miss it now!" He declares.

James smirks and raises his Keyblade, "That goes double for me!" He says.

Aqua looks at him, "But Jim!"

"Aqua!" He cuts her off, "You said that you and the others would have my back, now and forever. Well that's a two-way street! I've got your back as much as you've got mine!"

Terra glanced over his shoulder at the two, "They can take care of themselves. They've been out there training just as hard as us."

Ventus nodded, "Yeah!"

Aqua's eyes narrow, "Stay sharp guys!" And with that warning, the battle was on.

The battle starts with the four of them striking at every orb that comes their way, despite the overwhelming rate at which they spawn, no one appears to be struggling as of yet.

James thrusts Starlight through one of the orbs, and just as he's about to get surrounded, he jabs Starlight into the floor and leaps up, "Thundara!" A powerful bolt of lightning strikes Starlight, and causes the blast to become a spread shot that destroys several orbs at once.

Xehanort witnessed this and smirks, "A most interesting maneuver. I dare say I haven't heard of one quite like it." He comments.

Eraqus eyes Xehanort with caution, "Yes… he has been known to think very creatively. Using combinations of physical arts and spells in unusual ways."

Xehanort nods, "Perhaps… there is something more to it…" He says, more to himself as he glances at the nearby wall.

Ventus quickly strikes an orb that was coming at him from behind, and narrowly dodged another one that came from in front of him, before swinging his Keyblade upward to defeat it. "Wind!" He created a large air tunnel that slammed several orbs against the ceiling, causing them to vanish.

Terra parries one of the orbs, before jumping into a forward roll, but not before tossing his Keyblade into a Raid Strike. The spinning Keyblade struck all around him as he rolled. When he stood back up, he caught his Keyblade and every single orb in his vicinity was destroyed.

Aqua was fighting the orbs with a refined grace, as though she were dancing. Quickly striking down one orb, then twisting herself around to eliminate another one. Once that one was defeated, she instantly turned and thrust her Keyblade through another orb that was flying her. She then backflipped over an orb and slashed mid-air. Finally, she finished them all with her Shot lock technique, "Bubble Blaster!" A flurry of bubbles quickly eliminated what little remained of the orbs.

After they had been dealt with, Ventus and James returned to the side wall while Aqua and Terra stood before the Masters. Eraqus walked forward, "That was unexpected." He says, "But one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test; one I chose to let unfold." He then slightly raises his head, "Which brings us to your next trial." Aqua and Terra turned to face one another, "Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners-only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. The two of them took their stances, "Begin!"

As they were fighting, Aqua had made an impressive move, by taking advantage of Terra's opening. After narrowly dodging, his eyes narrowed as he held out his other hand. His hand became covered in darkness.

James noticed this instantly, _"I didn't want to be right, but I thought I had sensed a darkness growing in Terra. Fortunately, it's still too weak to influence him. He's not in danger…. yet."_ Terra notices it and is shocked, but has no time to act on it, and vanishes the darkness as he continues his fight with Aqua.

When the match ended, there was a brief recess while the Masters discussed the test results. The recess held nothing but a tense silence. Everyone too curious about what the results were to talk about anything. Soon, Eraqus and Xehanort returned.

Eraqus stepped forward, "We have deliberated and reached a decision."

A short pause, "Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery." Disappointment and shock were clear on Terra's face. James couldn't help but feel bad for his friend. And one look to his side showed that Ventus felt the same way.

"Terra," Eraqus speaks, "you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all." He then looked to the new Master, "Aqua, as our newest Keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge." As Eraqus says this, Xehanort walks out of the room. "Please wait here for further instruction." After that, Eraqus followed Xehanort out.

The moment Eraqus left the room, James and Ventus rushed over to Terra as Aqua turned to face him as well. "Hey…" She says calmly.

Ventus looks to him, "Terra, I'm sorry." The boy says.

James nodded, "It's like the Master said. There's always next time." He offers. Ventus and Aqua both nod.

Terra continues staring at the ground, "The darkness… Where did it come from?" He asked.

"From you." James answers bluntly.

Terra whips around to face him, "What!?" He asks.

Aqua is about to interject, but James cuts her off, "And in me." He says, causing everyone to pause, "And Aqua, and Master Xehanort, and Master Eraqus, and everyone else in the frickin multiverse!" He exclaims, "Fact is, everyone has darkness in them. As Keyblade Wielders, we're just more susceptible to it than others." His expression turns grim, "Just trust me on this… Darkness is a poison. But only if you give it control." Silence again.

Terra breaks it though, "Sorry… but I need some time alone." He says before walking off. Aqua and Ventus both start to follow after him, but James stops them. When they look at his concerned expression, they realize there's nothing they can do for him right now.

James was doing drills in the courtyard, attempting to clear his head from memories that the Mark of Mastery Exam managed to stir back up, when he heard a loud bell-sounding noise.

Growing worried, he rushed back to the grand hallway and found Aqua and Eraqus. "What's going on?" He asks. Eraqus looks behind him to something the others cannot see and moves towards it.

Suddenly, Terra rushes in with the same inquiry as James.

Aqua looks to the both of them, "I don't know." She says before looking back towards Eraqus, who appears to be having a conversation with someone. "Why isn't Ven here?" She asks.

James shrugs, "Probably all the way back in his room. It's a long run from there to here."

Eraqus walks back over to the three of them and they all go to attention. "That was my dear old friend Yen Sid." He explains, "As you know, he is Master no more… but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness." He offers a brief pause, "His counsel serves as signposts on the road we wielders of the Keyblade must walk. All the more reason, then, for concern."

James frowns, "Forgive me, Master, but why do I have a bad feeling that he didn't share good news with you?"

Eraqus lowers his head, "Your instincts are sharp as ever James. For he tells me the Princesses of Heart are in danger."

James' eyes widen at this news, _"No! If they fall to darkness, the balance will be irreparably shifted!" _He thinks.

Eraqus continues, "Not only from the forces of darkness, as you may assume…but also from a new threat- one that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form-Yen Sid calls them the 'Unversed.'"

He stops and looks at the three of them, "As wielders of the Keyblade, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness. The Unversed are no exception. I tried to pass this news on to Master Xehanort, but my repeated attempts to reach him have failed."

James' eyes narrow at this, _"What? That doesn't make sense… He's a Keyblade Master. This should concern him far more than it concerns us. So why would he not be able to be called upon."_ Eraqus must sense James' doubt, because he then says, "I doubt there is any connection, and yet… this all troubles me." He tells them.

Terra looks downward, "Master Xehanort is gone?" He says quietly, however Aqua and James manage to hear it, and they glance his way briefly.

Eraqus looks at the three of them again, "So here we are. I need you three to get this situation under control. Eliminate the Unversed, and find Master Xehanort. I have unlocked the Lanes Between. You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others. The darkness looms closer than usual within these spaces, but your armor will protect you. Lastly, remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds." He states, stressing the part regarding the order.

James couldn't help the brief flashback to when Chirithy taught him about the Order. Eraqus' form straightened, "Now go, and fulfill your duty."

The three of them answer together, "Yes Master."

Terra is the first to turn away and proceed to walk to the exit, however Eraqus calls to him, "Terra." The young man stops, "Consider this an opportunity." He tells him in a friendly tone, "A second chance for you to change my mind."

Terra looks curious, "What?" He asks.

Eraqus made his way to Terra, "You must know, I care for you like my own son." He tells him, "If I could have my way, I would name you Master in a second." He pauses, "But, how can I, when you are so obsessed with power?" He asks. "Terra, you mustn't be afraid of losing." Eraqus tells him, "Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness." He places a hand on Terra's shoulder, "You must never forget."

He then steps back and Terra bows, "Thank you, Master." He says honestly, "I swear… I will not fail you again." He then walks out of the room, with Aqua being very worried-more so than she usually would be, by James' eyes.

"_Come to think of it… of the four of us, those two have been here the longest and have probably been here since childhood…. I wonder…"_ He muses to himself.

James is interrupted in his thoughts, however, when Eraqus approaches him, "James. It is quite possible that you will venture to worlds that you have visited before. Do not allow your old memories to drag you back to the darkness of which you fell victim to." He warns.

James nods, "I know, Master. I let the darkness defeat me once before, but it won't ever happen again."

Aqua offers him a friendly smile before facing Eraqus, "Master, we'd best be on our way."

Just as Aqua and James were leaving, they saw Ventus run past, heading towards the door to the courtyard. "Wait Aqua." She halts, as does James, before they can go further. "Before you depart, I have one other… well, call it a request, of the utmost priority."

Aqua looks at the Master, "Yes?" She asks.

Eraqus shuts his eyes for a brief moment, "I told Terra this could be a second chance to show the Mark of Mastery… and I meant it." He says before adding, "However, that flicker of darkness he displayed during the examination- I can sense it runs very deep. If he were to-." He cuts himself off, "If those powers were to prove too much for him to handle, I want you to bring him back to me at once."

James' eyes narrowed, "You want her to spy on Terra? And drag him back by his heels?" He asks offendedly.

Eraqus remained calm, "It's for his own good." Eraqus tells them, "I could not bear to lose any of you to the darkness." James was nearly enraged at the accusations of Terra falling to darkness.

Aqua spoke before he could say something he may regret, "Of course. I would never let that happen." She says. "I promise you I will bring Terra back."

James is about to direct his anger towards Aqua until he sees a proud smile on her face, "Only this time, you'll see he has what it takes to be a Master." Rendered Speechless, James simply follows Aqua out. On their way, Aqua glanced back at Eraqus, "He's not as weak as you think."

Then, in a huge rush of events, Aqua and James are flying through the Space Between Worlds on their Keygliders on the hunt for the Unversed, Terra-if necessary, and Ventus, who ran off from the Land of Departure, in search of Terra. James looks to Aqua, "We've got a real mess on our hands this time, don't we?" He asks her. Aqua looks his way, "I'd say so, yes." She answers honestly, "But it doesn't matter! We're not going to lose Ven, or Terra! I promise!" James nods, "Right. Then I guess there's only one thing left to say." The two look at each other and speak together, "May your heart be your guiding key!"

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Thanks to all who took part in the poll for who James goes with. But as I said at the start, I'm curious…. How different would it be if he followed Terra? Or Ventus? Would you guys like to see EX Side stories that starts here and ends where the story will end? Only difference being he leaves with Terra in one of them, and Ventus in another. Lemme know if you'd like to see these. If so, I'll work on them while doing book 3 when it comes to that. In any case, Hope ya liked this chapter! Leave me a review with your thoughts and I'll see ya next time!)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Castle of Dreams

(A/N: I don't believe it! I actually posted a chapter on time! Maybe I'll keep up this pace? Guess we'll see. Anyways, here ya go!)

James and Aqua arrive inside a brilliant castle, they walk through the hall as a large bell tones. Aqua looks over to her friend, "So, Jim, have you ever been here before?" She asked. She'd always been curious about his previous adventures.

James shook his head, "No. The aura of the world is familiar, but I've never been in this castle before."

Aqua tilted her head, "Aura?" She inquires.

James nods, "Every world is controlled by its own unique form of magic, or energy. If you teach your body to feel these magics, you can learn to differentiate one from the other, no matter how alike they may seem."

Aqua nods, "That's incredible!" She states.

Their conversation is cut short when they hear a voice calling out, "Mademoiselle! Senorita! Wait!" The two of them turned to see a man with a glass slipper in his hand, following after a beautiful blonde-haired woman that was racing out the door.

James caught a glimpse of the girl and his eyes widened, _"Is that Cinderella?! Wow, I haven't seen her in ages!"_ James had once found his way to Cinderella's world while attempting to push back a Heartless outbreak. After first meeting with Alice, Snow White, and Belle, he was able to quickly deduce back then that she was another Princess of Heart. _"If the Unversed are here, that's only going to spell more trouble."_

Just then, the two hear another voice, this one much more familiar, "Aqua! Jim!"

They turn to look atop the flight of stairs and speak together, "Terra!" Terra walked down the steps to meet with his friends.

James whispered into Aqua's ear, "He needs to know about Ven. He might have seen him already." She nods subtly.

James hated feeling like some kind of secret agent, using Terra for gathering intel, but he wanted to protect Ventus, who has the least amount of experience of the group.

Aqua looks at Terra with worried eyes as he approaches them, "Terra… Ven ran away from home." She tells him.

Terra looks at her, "What?"

James nodded, "It's true. He didn't tell us why. Just went off flying to some world or other."

Aqua's gaze softened, "I think he left to go find you." She says, "Do you have any idea why?"

Terra pondered her question briefly before shaking his head, "No…" Then, he quietly gasped, "Actually… Just before I left, he tried to tell me something." He then started walking to the front door, "I should have listened to what he had to say." He stops just in front of the door.

Aqua looks away slightly, "Oh…" She sighs sadly.

James places a hand on her shoulder and offers her a reassuring smile, "Ven's a smart kid. He's got a big heart, and a quick swing. He can handle himself long enough for us to find him."

Aqua gives a small smile in return before looking back towards Terra, "So… did you manage to locate Master Xehanort?"

Terra turns his head slightly, "No, but it seems he's looking for pure hearts filled with light." He tells them.

James feels seven red flags going off in his brain, _"Pure hearts? Filled with light? He must be talking about the Princesses of Heart! But what does Xehanort want with them?"_ James narrows his eyes, "Why's he looking for people like that at a time like this? Does he think they can help us stop the Unversed?"

Terra starts walking again as he speaks, "All I can tell you is that his search hasn't taken him here."

Aqua nods, "All right. I'll stay and see if I can find more clues."

James nods, "Me too. Four eyes are better than two."

Terra doesn't look back, "Ok. The Prince is in the Ballroom just ahead. He might have some answers."

Aqua smiles, "Thanks."

Just as Aqua turns to head to the ballroom, Terra calls out, "Aqua. You still have the same dream?" He asks her.

Aqua appeared confused, "Well… Yes."

Terra nods, "There's this girl here-her name is Cinderella." James' ears twitch at the mention of her name, "She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem… a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness." Aqua nods, a small smile on her face, which Terra returns, "If you see her, give her my thanks."

Aqua nodded again, "Will do."

James smiles at Terra, "Try not to get into too much trouble while we're gone, alright?" He tells him. Terra smirks, but says nothing as he leaves. James' expression then went serious, _"He's doing fine for now. But there's no telling when the darkness will ty and take hold."_

"He'll be all right." Aqua says, "He won't give in to it."

James looks at her, "How do you know for sure?" She simply smiles at him, "Because I believe."

James gaped for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "Guess you've got a point. Come on, let's check out this ballroom."

As they walk into the ballroom, they pass by three women on their way out. As they pass, Aqua and James sense an unusual energy, causing them both to jump and glance back towards the three. James narrowed his eyes.

He knew those three.

Aqua glanced his way, "Did you feel that? Where do you think it came from?" She asked.

James looked back at her, "I have a general idea." Before he could elaborate, however, the same man that was chasing Cinderella returned, running past James and Aqua.

She looked at the man and asked, "Who are those ladies?"

The man halted and made his way over to the duo, "Oh, er, if I recall correctly, that is Lady Tremaine and those are her daughters."

One look at Aqua, and James knew what she was thinking, _"There was something very wrong about them."_ James looked to the man, "Why did Lady Tremaine's step daughter not leave with them?"

The man looks at James questioningly, "Pardon? The Lady Tremaine does not have a step-daughter, else she would've attended the ball with them."

Aqua looked back at the man, "Why is that?"

The man shook his head, "I'm terribly sorry, but I haven't the time! I must make a report to His Majesty." He said before walking back towards the Prince.

James leaned in close to Aqua, "Either that guy lied, or Tremaine doesn't know she was here."

Aqua looked to her friend, "What are you talking about, Jim?" She asked.

"Cinderella is Lady Tremaine's step-daughter. Though, with how they treat her, I'd say the word 'slave' is more appropriate." He tells her.

Aqua's eyes widen, "How do you know?"

"Because I met Cinderella in my old adventures. Tremaine and her two daughters treat her like a servant. No way Cinderella got here by asking nicely."

Aqua hummed in thought before the Prince looked at Aqua, "You came back!" He says.

Aqua jerks her head in surprise. "Oh." The Prince exclaims, "My apologies. I was mistaken."

**(A/N: Ok, I'm sorry, but I just have to say this. How the hell did Prince Charming EVER mistake Aqua for Cinderella? I mean… They look nothing alike! Aqua's hair is blue and Cinderella's is blonde! This is as stupid as Shadow being mistaken for Sonic in Adventure 2. Sorry again, I know these are annoying, but I needed to say that. Carry on.)**

The man from earlier interjected by saying, "Your Highness, I found this on the palace stairs." He says, offering his find to the Prince. Meanwhile, Aqua and James focused their attention back on the exit.

"A glass slipper?" The Prince asks. Aqua turns her head and watches the conversation.

"One dropped by a lovely young lady, and I'll search far and wide to find the maiden to whom this belongs." Says the man.

The Prince looks at him in surprise, "You will?"

The man simply nods his head, "Of course, Your Highness. After all, you have finally found someone whom you wish to marry." He says warmly, and James couldn't help but notice the faintest hint of a smile playing at Aqua's lips, "Upon hearing that happy news, your father, the king, has decreed that a quest shall begin immediately throughout the kingdom."

This statement gave James a flurry of thoughts, _"That was definitely Cinderella I saw running away. Why, I have no idea, but as long as she's under the 'care' of Tremaine, she isn't safe from the influences of darkness. At the same time, these Unversed could attack anyone. But that gives me an idea."_ James summons his Keyblade, startling all in the room, before he lowers himself to one knee, "Your Majesty, with your permission, I wish to escort this mission." He states.

The Prince looks at James, "Why do you wish to do that?" He wonders aloud.

James smiles, "Call me soft-natured, but I've always had a thing for matters of the heart."

Aqua forced herself to contain her laughter at the horrible attempt at an inside joke.

"I swear upon my life, sire, that I shall see this mission meets with success. You will have your bride on the morrow."

The Prince smiles, "Wonderful. I shall have you accompany the Grand Duke," he says, gesturing to the man holding the slipper, "along on this campaign."

When the Prince and Grand Duke stepped away for a moment, Aqua pulled James aside, "Jim! What are you thinking?! We're not supposed to get involved in these sorts of matters!" She scolds.

James rolls his eyes, "Even to protect one of the Princesses of Heart?" He asks.

Aqua gasps, "What do you mean?"

James glances over the room before whispering, "Cinderella is the owner of that glass slipper, and she's a Princess of Heart! You felt that energy from the Tremaines, we can't risk her being so involved with them, not with the Unversed around."

Aqua groaned, "Ok, I still don't entirely like it, but I want to help. What can I do?"

James smiles, "Get to the Tremaine Manor-it's not far from here, you can't miss it- and find Cinderella. Keep your eyes on her, and make sure she's able to meet with us when we arrive." Aqua nodded.

Both their hearts stopped for a second when they overheard the Grand Duke, "I will start with the closest residence-that of Lady Tremaine."

James started to panic, _"Son of a Woozle! I hadn't planned on that part."_ The Grand Duke gestured for James to follow suit, while the Prince went off in the opposite direction. James sent a worried gaze towards Aqua, which she returned with a confident nod.

During the carriage ride, the Grand Duke widened his eyes at James' suggestion, "W-what?! Why should we not inspect Lady Tremaine's house first? Hers is the closest residence." He reasoned.

James nodded, "True, but as you'll recall, they are hardly what most would consider to be beautiful." He says with a hint of scorn, "I'm not saying we don't inspect them at all. But let's first rule out some more plausible maidens first. For the sake of saving time."

The Grand Duke hummed, "Yes, quite so." He mumbles, "Very well. We'll move past the Tremaine house for now, and return to inspect it later."

James offered a small bow of his head, "Thank you, Your Grace." He says, _"Ok, Aqua. I've bought you some time. The rest is up to you."_

Many hours later, and the Grand Duke is exhausted from approaching homes through the whole of the night and day. James managed to buy as much time as possible, but upon the morning hour, they had arrived in front of the Tremaine manor. When they arrived, the carriage rider introduced the Grand Duke. Lady Tremaine curtseyed to the man, "You honor our humble home, milord." She says as she lets him and James enter. The Duke cleared his throat, "Quite so." They entered the main room on the ground floor and were greeted by the two daughters of Lady Tremaine. "May I present my daughters, Drizella and Anastasia." Tremaine says as the two daughters offer hideous smiles. James resists the urge to cringe, and remains silent as his eyes surveyed the area, _"I don't see either of them! Aqua, you need to hurry, you're running out of time!"_

Anastasia quickly takes the slipper and tries for far too long to put the slipper on her ginormous foot, to no avail, _"This is pathetic to watch, but if it gives Aqua and Cinderella more time, I'll let them try that thing on as long as they want."_ "I can't understand why! It always fit perfectly before." Anastasia grunts out after another failed attempt. James approaches the person in question, "Perhaps your sister should try it on now, to give your foot time to ease the swelling." He proposes in as nice a voice as he can muster. Drizella doesn't waste words and snatches it from Anastasia and has just a lousy luck with the slipper as her sister.

Suddenly, the room became surrounded in strange, purple monsters. James narrowed his eyes, "The Unversed! Grand Duke, keep the women back and leave these things to me!" He calls. The Duke nods and hurries to guide the Tremaines to the nearest corner. James summons Starlight, "I have so needed to burn off some steam!" He mumbles to himself before charging at the unversed. James strikes one Unversed down after another, constantly being mindful of his surroundings, _"Can't afford to cast magic, or I could risk destroying the house!"_

He hears a scream coming from behind him. He looks and sees Drizella about to be attacked, "Not on my watch!" James shouts as he throws Starlight. It hits the Unversed dead on and kills it as Starlight boomerangs itself back to James' hand, "Stay down!" He reminds her before returning to the fight.

A few brief moments later, and the monsters were defeated. James lets out a breath of relaxation, "Oh, how I needed that." He whispers to himself before looking back to the group, "It's all clear."

Following that was a few short minutes of Drizella trying to put the slipper on, causing it to fly off her foot and be caught by the Grand Duke. He eyes the three of them, "You're the only ladies in the household I hope- I presume?" He says, catching himself. Lady Tremaine quickly responds, "There is no one else, your Grace." James raises an eyebrow, "Truly? No maids, or other servants? Clearly those two over there are too spoiled to do their own work. And our orders were crystal clear. EVERY maiden must attempt to wear the slipper." Tremaine's eyes narrowed and was about to say something in retort before Aqua fell from the second floor rather clumsily. James quickly rushed to her and offered a hand to help her up, which she accepted with an embarrassed smile. She then looks to the rest of the occupants, "Oh… Would it…" She stutters awkwardly, "Would it be alright if I tried on the glass slipper?" She asked. James' eyes widened, _"What!? She can't be serious!"_ Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, Aqua whispered, "We just need to buy Jaq a few more seconds. Back me up here!" James' ears twitched at the mentioning of Jaq, remembering him from his first visit to this world.

The Grand Duke eyed Aqua, "Hmm… I met you at the palace. Unfortunately, you are not the young lady the Prince is looking for." James nods, "Perhaps, but he did mistake this fine young woman for her once before. And the orders were clear, sire. Perhaps we should allow it, for the sake of leaving nothing to chance." He says. The Duke hums to himself. "Hmm… Quite so. Quite so indeed." Lady Tremaine immediately steps towards Aqua, glaring daggers at her, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" James went to stand in front of Aqua, glaring back at Lady Tremaine. Drizella speaks up, "She's probably here to rob us!" "Mother, do something!" Anastasia demanded. James summoned Starlight, "Anyone who even thinks of harming her in my presence will face my wrath!" He shouts, casting an Aero spell at his feet for added effect. Seemingly unfazed by his threat, Lady Tremaine turned towards the Duke, "That girl does not live here." She says, spitting out the word girl, "I only have two daughters. I believe we're finished here, Your Grace." The Duke steps forward, "Regardless… She means no harm." He tells the three hags, as James steps aside and puts Starlight away so Aqua can try the slipper, _"I am so never gonna let her forget that pratfall she made."_ He thinks to himself amusedly.

Just before Aqua went to try the slipper on, a new voice spoke up, "Your Grace… Please wait. May I try it on?" The voice asks. James smiles as he looks up at the staircase and sees Cinderella walking down them.

Lady Tremaine immediately went to block the Duke from the stairwell, "Pay no attention to her. She's just an-."

She was interrupted by Starlight being pressed against her throat, "All. Maidens. Must. Be. Checked. If you refuse to let her try that slipper on, I shall gladly arrest you and your daughters for treason!" He speaks threateningly, his patience clearly ran dry.

The Duke placed a hand on James' shoulder, "Now, now. There's no need for such drastic measures, my boy." He then turns to Lady Tremaine, "But he is correct. I must have every maiden, including her, attempt to fit the slipper."

Aqua went up to the Duke, "You should let her go first." She says before moving past Tremaine. She offers Cinderella her hand, which the young maiden accepts.

"Thank you." She tells Aqua. James fetched a seat for Cinderella to use.

Aqua stood beside the chair, "I actually want to thank you," The young Master says, "for teaching Terra he needs to keep believing."

The Grand Duke approached Cinderella, but Lady Tremaine tripped him, causing him to drop the slipper. James immediately cast Gravity on the slipper, and snatched from the air, showing it to Tremaine, "Nice try, you vile witch." He says smugly before lowering to one knee, "Milady, if I may?" He asks. Cinderella looks at the young man, her eyes widening with recognition as she smiles and allows him to slide the slipper gracefully onto her foot.

The Duke smiled brightly, "A perfect fit. I must inform the Prince immediately! You will come with me, of course." He tells Cinderella. She nods, and offers her thanks to James and Aqua once again and walks out with the Grand Duke.

The two wielders were standing outside, while Aqua was telling him about what the Fairy God Mother had told her about fighting the darkness with light. James just scoffs, "Spoken like someone who hasn't seen darkness at its worst." He says, "Trust me, Aqua. The darkness is nothing but evil. And the less there is in the worlds, the better." They were both interrupted by the sound of Cinderella screaming.

Aqua jerks her head in the direction of the scream, "What's that?" She asks.

James summons Starlight, "Cinderella! Let's go!" They hurry down the path and run to find Lady Tremaine and her daughters standing in front of a massive monster that was attacking the carriage.

James looked to Aqua, "I'll handle the civilians, you take on that Unversed!" Aqua nodded. James made a beeline for Lady Tremaine, "Aeroga!" He launches a concentrated orb of wind at Lady Tremaine, smashing her against a tree and knocking her out. He delivered each of the daughters a swift kick to knock them out as well, _"With them out of commission, the Unversed should be a bit weaker."_ He then used the Strike Raid to break the carriage door open and jumped in, grabbed Cinderella, and leapt out. When they landed, he looked to her, "You alright?"

She nods, "Yes. Thank you so much! But I wonder… Are you?"

They were interrupted by Aqua getting knocked to the ground by the Unversed. "We can catch up later." He says as he steps forward, "Get behind something and stay there until the fighting stops."

The creature absorbed the carriage and made a new body from it. Aqua returned to her feet as James stood beside her, "Let's take this thing down, yeah?" He says.

Aqua nods and draws her Keyblade again, "Right." She responds.

Aqua starts off with a Thunder spell, that the Unversed dodges, but it gave James an opening to strike it with a barrage of strikes from Starlight.

The vines from the carriage Unversed swung out and swat James aside. It charged towards him, but immediately stopped as a Blizzard shot flew in front of it. It turned towards Aqua, who was charging at it. She tried for a Quick Blitz, but the Unversed moved out of the way swiftly.

James grunted back to his feet, "We gotta slow it down, or we're never gonna get anywhere with this thing!" He shouts as he re-enters the battle. The two of them stood side by side as the Unversed launched itself at them.

They both instantly responded with their respective Shotlocks, "Bubble Blaster!"

"Union Ragnarök!" The bubbles juggled the Unversed in place, while the Union Ragnarök shots were pelting it mercilessly.

The two of them broke off in different directions, "Freeze!" They both shouted as they launched Blizzaras to freeze the wheels. Then, they both moved in and cleaved the Unversed in a cross slash, destroying the Unversed.

Aqua and James were nursing each other's injuries at the water fountain while the Grand Duke presented Cinderella to the Prince. The wielders looked on as the two embraced each other, which brought a smile to James' face _"I'm happy for you, Cinderella. You got your Happily Ever After."_ His hand went up to the Wayfinder hanging from around his neck, _"Now I just gotta wrap up this Unversed issue, so I can get back to my own."_ The two of them turned away as the Fairy God Mother approached them.

Aqua smiled at her, "A pure heart, filled with light." She said, "It's strange, the Master taught me darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?"

Fairy God Mother looked to Aqua, "Oh, my dear, you're too young to know." She tells them, "Experience more things, and you'll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams." Aqua nodded, as did James. They were going to leave, before the Grand Duke approached the two with news for the two of them.

The following evening, James and Aqua were once again at the palace. This time, as honored guests for the wedding between Cinderella and the Prince. Aqua fidgeted, "Should we really be doing this? Don't we have other places to be right now?" She asks.

James laughs, "Aqua, moments of peaceful joy such as this don't happen often in our line of work. We deserve to enjoy them when they come around. That said…" He then stands in front of her and offers her his hand with a bow, "My lady, may I have this dance?"

Aqua giggles, but decides to humor him with a curtsey as she takes his hand, "It'd be an honor, good sir." She says jokingly, as they begin to dance.

Some hours later, and the two were making their final preparations. Aqua looked to James, "Oh! I forgot to mention! Jaq mentioned that he knew Ven!"

James smiled, "Then that means we're hot on his trail! Let's get a move on!" They both don their armors, mount their gliders, and set off for the next world.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! James' story is still only beginning. With old and new friends meeting, will he put his past behind him? Or will it catch up with him? Tune in next time, to find out! Read and Review!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Castle of Dreams-Side story

(A/N: Ok, this was originally gonna be something else, but I have a fun idea. The next chapter will be up in just a few days.)

James and Aqua were moments away from departing the world when the Grand Duke approached the two, "Pardon me, but the bride wishes to speak to you." He tells James. He raises an eyebrow, but walks towards Cinderella.

She smiles as he approaches her, "I can't thank you enough for saving me from that monster." She says.

James smiles, "It was a pleasure. I'm always happy to help." He tells her.

She looks at him for a bit before speaking again, "We've met before, haven't we?" She asks him.

James looks away, "That was a long time ago, Princess. I'd rather not look back on those times." He then looks back to her, "But yes. I kept the Heartless at bay in your home and village some time ago."

Cinderella smiled again, "Well then I truly do owe you my deepest thanks. Please, won't you attend the wedding? You'd be an honored guest. And of course, your friend there is welcome as well."

James smiles, _"Honestly, we probably shouldn't. But I can't help wondering about what Fairy Godmother told Aqua about darkness and light."_ He thinks to himself before bowing, "We would be honored. I'll inform her at once."

"WHAT!?" Aqua said, "This isn't the time! Ven is still out there! We have to find him!"

James waves her off, "We told Terra about it, he'll be on the lookout for him. We deserve this! Besides, how are we supposed to refuse the invite without risking the World Order?"

Aqua prepared to counter when she stopped. "We uh…. We could… um…" She fumbled before sighing in defeat, "Ok, but we are NOT making a habit of this!"

James nods, "You got a deal."

Before long, the wedding ceremony was underway and James and Aqua were once again at the palace. This time, as honored guests for the wedding between Cinderella and the Prince. Aqua fidgeted, "Should we really be doing this? Don't we have other places to be right now?" She asks.

James laughs, "Aqua, moments of peaceful joy such as this don't happen often in our line of work. We deserve to enjoy them when they come around. That said…" He then stands in front of her and offers her his hand with a bow, "My lady, may I have this dance?"

Aqua giggles, but decides to humor him with a curtsey as she takes his hand, "It'd be an honor, good sir." She says jokingly, as they begin to dance.

After their dance, Aqua was asked to dance by a Noble man, and James wasn't about to let her take no for an answer. With her attention diverted, James walked outside and let out a sigh of exasperation, "Not with light." He mumbles, "What a joke."

Suddenly, he hears a voice, "My, my. You truly do hate the darkness, don't you?" James recognizes the Fairy Godmother as she materializes in front of him with a worried gaze.

He shakes his head, "No. Funny, isn't it? Despite everything the darkness took from me…" He paused slightly, "My home. My friends. Skuld… Chirithy… All of them gone because of what the Darkness did. But I don't hate it." He then allowed a single tear run down his cheek, "I'm terrified of it." His voice shaky.

Fairy Godmother placed her hand on his shoulder, "My dear boy. Fearing the darkness only calls it into your heart. I understand you've experienced terrible things-you don't need magic to see that- but you mustn't linger on the past. If you don't, it may very well consume you." She then left him with a smile.

Aqua emerged from the ballroom and gripped James' ear, "There you are!" She shouts, yanking his ear, "Next time, you let me decide who I dance with alright?! You have any idea what he-…" She stops her rant to notice a single tear stream on his face and let go of his ear, "Are you ok?" She asked.

James sniffled and wiped his face, "Yeah. Just had a flashback. Those are a thing with Keyblade Wielders. Let's go ahead and get moving."

Aqua nodded, "Okay." But her eyes held concern, _"Jim… What happened to you before you arrived? And how could it be so horrible that it still haunts you like this?" _She thought. Aqua looked to James, "Oh! I forgot to mention! Jaq mentioned that he knew Ven!" James smiled, "Then that means we're hot on his trail! Let's get a move on!" They both don their armors, mount their gliders, and set off for the next world.

(That's it for this chapter! Lemme know if you want more mini-chapters like this one after each world. I don't really have any more small ones like this planned, but if you guys decide you want them, I'll include them. In any case, I apologize that this is so late, but the next update will be early. Read and Review!)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Dwarven Woodlands

(A/N: Here we are! Chapter 7! Taking place in Snow White and the 7 Dwarves! Posted on November 7th! At exactly 7 am! This was the reason I decided to do the mini-chapter before this one. If you liked it and wanna see more, lemme know. Without further ado, you may begin.)

James and Aqua found themselves walking through a forest. James smiles, "Hah," He sighs peacefully, "This brings back memories. And good ones for once." He adds with a laugh.

Aqua giggles, "I take it you've been here before?"

James nods, "Yeah. It was my firs-!" He freezes in place, his expression darkening, _"Something is very wrong here. I sense a massive amount of darkness! And it's shrouding a person! And it feels like it's where…"_

He trailed off in his thoughts as Aqua looked around in concern, "What? What is it?" She asks.

Without another word, James sprints, "DOC!" He shouts, Aqua following closely behind him.

When they arrive at the Dwarves' cottage, he finds Doc and the other dwarves-whom he had met in additional visits after his initial one- all surrounding a glass coffin.

James rushed over to them, "Doc, Happy, everyone!" He calls out, getting their attention.

Doc is the first to respond, "Why it's dim-uh-Jim!" He says.

Grumpy scowls, "Well look who finally decides to visit! Where were ya when we needed ya's? When SHE needed ya's?!" He asks with more anger in his voice than usual.

Aqua walked up to the group, "Is something wrong? What has happened here?" She asks.

The dwarves all turn back to the glass coffin, as Doc hangs his head, "Poor Snow White…" he says sadly.

James' entire body flinched, "What?! What happened? Where is she!?" Doc shut his eyes and averted his head, giving James all the answer he needed, _"No… No… Not this… Not again… Not again! NO!"_ He drops to his knees and begins to hyperventilate.

Aqua moves to support him, "Jim!? What's wrong?" He didn't give an answer, his blank eyes stared at the ground as his body began trembling violently.

Aqua embraced Jim, holding him tightly, "It's ok, Jim…" She says softly, "You're ok. You don't have to go through this alone. We have an unbreakable connection, remember?"

Her words managed to break through to James as he mumbles, "Un…breakable…connection…" His hand reaches for the Wayfinder around his neck, causing him to gasp violently before standing up.

"Are you alright?" Aqua asks with deep concern.

James nodded, "Yeah…" He pants, "Yeah just… gimme a second…" After a brief moment, James managed to fully compose himself, "Ok. So, what exactly happened to Snow White?" He asks, looking to Doc.

The dwarf clutches his hat, "She was just as sweet as could be." He said.

"She sang us purty songs…" Sleepy commented.

"And made us smile." Said a downhearted Happy.

Sneezy sniffled before adding, "At bedtime, she told wonderful stories…"

Bashful nodded, "About falling in love, an' the Prince she'd met."

Even Grumpy had a solemn expression, void of his usual anger, "An' when we went to work, she gave us all a kiss…" He told the duo.

Happy spoke up once more, "She was so full of kindness- why, she made better folk of all of us."

Aqua stared at Snow White's body, "From what you've said, she must have been very loved."

James nodded, "She was." He stated, lowering himself to one knee, "Snow White was beloved by everyone in the Kingdom. Nobody had ever seen her without a radiant smile gracing her lips. The only one who was immune to the Princess' charms, was her wicked stepmother." Aqua sends a knowing glance to James, who offered a nod in response, "Her envy of Snow's beauty was a beacon for all manner of Heartless once before." He stopped and looked to his friend, "Who did this to her?"

Doc shook his head violently, "The wicked Queen was horribly jealous, like you bed-uh-said! So, she used her evil magic to change into an old hag, and then she gave Snow White a poisoned apple."

Acting purely on impulse, James called Starlight to his hand, he raised it and cast the most powerful healing spell he knew, "Esuna!" A bright green light enveloped Starlight's tip, and showered over the glass coffin.

Sadly, 'twas all for naught. Snow White had not stirred from her position. James glared at Starlight, "You useless key!" He shouted, throwing it into a nearby tree, "What good are you, if you can't even let me save her life!"

Aqua gripped James' arm, "Jim! Enough! It's not your fault." She says, looking to Snow, "That poison is a type of magic. Normal spells won't be enough to break the curse she's been put under." She then looked to Doc, "Isn't there some way we can help her?"

Doc scoffed, "Well, not unless someone craves the bastle-uh, braves the castle."

Grumpy stood up, "All you fools can stay here doin' nothin'." He tells them, "But I'm not afeard a goin', not even to that witch's lair!"

All the dwarves stand to look at him, "You'll never make it." Doc tells him, "The castle's supposed to be guarded by magic, an' crawling with monsters.

Aqua's face became filled with determination, "All right. Then I'll go." She says confidently.

Starlight bursts through the tree and returns to James' hand, "Me too! Protecting Snow White is my priority as a Keyblade Wielder and I failed. Now it's time to make it right!"

Bashful looks up at them, "You will?" He asks.

Aqua offers them a smile, "We will. Leave it to us."

Doc nods, "Well, all right then. We'd be much obliged. Just please, be careful." He says, the last part specifically to James before adding, "I don't wanna lose any more friends this day."

James smiled, "Don't worry old friend. We'll save Snow White somehow."

After going through the denser parts of the forest, and dealing with Unversed along the way, Aqua and James found themselves at the castle Doc had mentioned. Upon their arrival, they noticed a finely dressed young man.

James was more focused on the layout of the Castle, so Aqua approached the man, "Is something wrong?" She asks.

The man turns to face her, "This castle-it's different somehow. And I can't find the princess or hear her beautiful voice." This caught James' attention and he walked up. "Was it all a dream?" The young man asked.

Aqua raised an eyebrow, "Wait. You mean you know Snow White?" She asks.

He nods with a smile, "Oh yes, we met once. It was a song that drew us together…" He says wistfully before looking at them with concern, "Has something happened to the Princess?"

Aqua looked down with a frown, "Yes, I'm afraid so… The wicked Queen tricked her into eating a poisoned apple."

James clenches his fist, "I did what I could, but nothing would stir her awake."

The young man looked immediately to the two, "I must go to her!" He demands, "Where is she?"

James points in the direction of where they came, "Follow the path to the forest, pass through the darkened woods, and you'll come upon a cottage. That is where she rests."

Aqua nodded, "She's being watched over by seven kind dwarves."

The man nodded, "I will find her. Perhaps there is a way I can help." He then rushed off. James sighed, _"He better not get his hopes up. For his own sake."_ The two watch him leave, before returning their focus to the castle itself.

James looks to Aqua, "You check the throne room. If you fail to find any clues, look for a large mirror. I've spied on the Queen once, and saw her speak to it. Apparently, it's charmed to offer wisdom on those who ask it questions."

Aqua nodded, "Ok. What about you?" She asks.

"I'm gonna try the lower areas. She can't have conjured that Poison apple out of thin air, she must have a laboratory. I'll look for it, and hopefully find some way to reverse the spell." They nodded to each other and split up to go and find the answers.

As James walked, his mind raced, _"This won't be like that day! I won't let the darkness take an innocent soul ever again! I can find a way to save Snow White! I have to!"_ As he searched, he discovered a hidden switch that, when activated, produced a stairway that lead down deeper. James smirked, "Yeah, that totally doesn't scream 'evil lair' or anything like that." He says sarcastically before continuing onward. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found himself in the Queen's secret laboratory, where she concocted dark magics.

James narrowed his eyes on a book that revealed to be opened. He went over to it and read aloud, "'The victim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by True Love's Kiss…'" He paused for a moment, "Why does that sound horribly cliché?" He wondered aloud before being hit with realization, "This must be the spell that Snow's under! And if that guy was the Prince Sleepy mentioned, then that means he might be the only one who can save her!" He ripped the page out from the book, "I gotta get to Aqua! Now!"

As he left, he was unaware that a pair of eyes were watching him with grave intent.

James rushed into the throne room and saw a very disoriented Aqua. "Find anything?" He asked.

Aqua shook her head, "No, but I think I just fought the phantom of the opera." James looked baffled at her. Aqua shook her head, "I'll explain later. What did you find?" James shows Aqua the page he stole from the book. She read it and her eyes widened, "Do you think-?"

"I'm positive!" He answers. They both immediately rush off to find the Prince.

The two entered the dark forest and saw the Prince facing against a mysterious being wearing a tattered and torn black cloak that hid their face. James and Aqua each summoned their Keyblades and moved in front of the Prince, "Who are you?" Aqua asks.

They gave her no response however, and extended their right hand. A cloud of darkness spread from their hand, and it took the shape of Starlight, but its color was as black as the darkest void.

James' eyes narrowed, "Aqua. Take the Prince and get moving." He says.

Aqua looks to him, "What? But I can't-."

"If you don't get him to the dwarves now, then Snow White may die! There's no time to debate this! Just go now!" Reluctantly, Aqua pressed on, leading the Prince through the woods. James entered his battle stance, "Now then, what the hell are you?" He asks.

They give no answer again, but they take up a battle stance that mirrors James'. He growls, "So it's gonna be like that, eh? Fine!" He then charges at the being.

James goes for the thrust, but the entity counters with an upward strike, knocking him into the sky. James quickly regains himself though, and moves to block the flurry of strikes the entity delivered to him before going into a spinning kick, that knocked the entity to the floor. Using incredible speed, James appeared behind the entity and struck their back, sending them flying forward, which James followed up with a Strike Raid.

After that, the entity quickly rose to their feet and charged again. They cast an Aeroga spell and crashed James through several thick trees and then froze him in place with Blizzara. James struggled to break free but to no avail. He was helpless as he watched the entity approach him.

Just as James accepted his fate, the entity withdrew their blade and uttered a single word, "home…" they said in a dry, death-sounding voice and then vanished into the shadows.

James finally managed to break himself out of the ice and rushed as fast as he could to catch up to Aqua, _"Whatever the freaking hell that thing was, I gotta focus on Snow White right now!"_

When he arrived, the dwarves stood by the coffin, same as before. This time, however, Aqua and the Prince were standing a few feet back. James caught up to them and looked to the Prince, "You're the only one that can wake her up." He tells him.

The prince looks back at James, "How? What must I do?"

James simply smiles, "Just follow your heart. It'll handle the rest for ya."

Without a moment's hesitation, the prince strode up to Snow, and placed a tender kiss upon her lips. At first, this produced no reaction, causing everyone to lose hope, when suddenly, Snow White's eyes fluttered open.

Aqua gaped at this, "Princess!"

"You're alright!" James says happily. Everyone rejoiced at this revelation.

Aqua had a soft smile on her face, "That's so sweet." She says to no one in particular. "It's just like a miracle…" Her thoughts went back to when Ventus first woke up after arriving at the Land of Departure. James could tell she was growing increasingly worried about Ventus, and offered her a confident smile, silently promising to find him.

After the Prince had taken Snow to his castle, James informed Aqua about what happened with the entity. She hummed, "What did they mean by 'home'?" She wondered aloud.

James shook his head, "I have no idea. But considering how it moved, I'd say they're a Heartless." An uncomfortable silence befell the two of them. James looked up to the sky, "Well whatever. We'll figure that out later. Let's get back to finding Ven!" He says. Aqua smiles and nods as they embark to the next world.

(That's it for this chapter! Hope you liked it! Who or what is this strange thing that defeated Jim? Where is this "home" they spoke of? To find out, make sure to Follow this story! And if you like it so far, be sure to favorite as well. Let me know what you think in a review. See ya next time!)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Unbreakable Connection

(A/N: Sorry! Late! Sorry! College! Enjoy!)

Shortly after the Prince rode off with Snow White in tow, the seven Dwarves approached James and Aqua, "Oh thank you both ever so much!" Said Happy.

Doc nodded and looked to James, "Yeah it's ice to blow-uh-I mean nice to know that we have friends like you to help us out!"

Aqua let out a small laugh, "Of course! It was our pleasure, right Jim?" She says as she turns to him. But he gave no answer and stared off into the distance, his thoughts plagued by the entity that attacked him. Aqua shook his shoulder slightly, "Jim?" She asks.

James blinks before looking at everyone, "Huh? Oh uh, yes. Absolutely. Now um… excuse me." He says before walking off.

Doc tilted his head, "Gosh. Jim sure does seem awful triald-uh riled lately."

Aqua nods, "Yeah. He's been through some terrible hardships. He won't ever talk about it, but it must have been horrifying." She says, thinking back to his panic attack earlier. She then looks to Doc, "May I ask, what was Jim like before? Back when you all first met him."

Happy smiled, "Well, Jim was about as chipper as can be!"

Grumpy scowled, "He was kinda dependable, I suppose." He says stubbornly.

Doc nodded, "It's true. He'd disappear for days sometimes weeks at a time, but he always seemed to be proud of his key."

Sneezy sniffled, "Though… he did seem different after a while."

Sleepy yawned, "Yeah…. He wasn't as confident as he used to be."

Doc hums while stroking his chin, "Now that you mention it, you're right. Gosh, I wonder what happened?" Aqua could only frown as she went to catch up to James.

She found him standing in the woods, the same spot where they handled the entity. Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder, "What's bothering you? We won! The Princess is safe, and the Queen was defeated before we even arrived."

James nods, "Maybe, but that thing that attacked us got away." He told her, "It fought exactly like someone…familiar…but I can't quite place who it was…"

Aqua looked away for a moment before looking back to him, "Do you think it's one of your old friends turned into a Heartless?"

James shook his head, "That shouldn't be possible… It just shouldn't be…"

Aqua thought silently for a moment, "Why…" She hesitated slightly, "Why did you freak out like that when we first learned about Snow White?"

James let out a sigh, "Remember the scenario I gave you all those years ago when I first arrived?" Aqua nodded, "Well… I watched… a lot of people fall to darkness that were completely innocent. I guess seeing Snow like that brought it all back at once." He turned to her and smiled, "Thanks, by the way, for helping me snap out of that."

Aqua smiled back, "It wasn't just me. It was Terra and Ven too. I told you Jim, the four of us share an unbreakable connection." She then holds out her Wayfinder, "As long as we keep our memories of each other in our hearts, we'll never truly be apart. Whenever you're scared and lose your way, a friend will appear to make your day." She recites. James looks at her curiously, she giggles, "It's a little rhyme that came with the story of the Wayfinders. I felt it was appropriate."

James hugged Aqua, "Thanks. Really, I mean it."

Aqua smiles warmly and returns the embrace, "Anytime."

James and Aqua said goodbye to the dwarves before walking away to find a discreet place to leave the World. On their way, James informed Aqua about what happened with the entity. She hummed, "What did they mean by 'home'?" She wondered aloud.

James shook his head, "I have no idea. But considering how it moved, I'd say they're a Heartless." An uncomfortable silence befell the two of them. James looked up to the sky, "Well whatever. We'll figure that out later. Let's get back to finding Ven!" He says. Aqua smiles and nods as they embark to the next world.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! I was asked once in a review if I was going to do ships. This actually got me thinking, because I hadn't considered it before. And to be honest, that's one of the reasons this is late, because I wanted to see what I wanted to do with it. I will say this, James is not getting a romantic interest. His relationship with Aqua is more like an older sister-little brother kind of thing. I will be shipping Sora and Kairi in future stories, as well as Riku and Namine. Roxas and Xion I might focus on most, simply because it's my favorite Kingdom Hearts ship, and if I do that, I apologize. Aqua and Terra… honestly, I don't really care either way. I can see how it would work but… I don't know, it just never mattered that much to me. If you wanna see Aqua and Terra be a ship, lemme know. In any case, thanks so much for being patient, I am sorry I keep updating late. Review to share your thoughts, Like, if you like the story, Follow it if you don't wanna miss a moment. See ya later!)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Enchanted Domain

(Sorry it's so late! I'm just not gonna give a specific time of when these uploads will happen anymore. I'll get them up quickly as I can. You guys are awesome for being so patient, and it really means a lot to me, so thank you! And I hope you enjoy this story!)

Aqua and James arrived in a dark, ominous mountain road with skies a bleak gray shade. James narrows his eyes, "The darkness in this place… it's almost overwhelming." He mutters.

Aqua nods and places a hand gently on his shoulder, "Are you going to be ok?"

James lets out a sigh, "Yes. Don't worry about me." He assures her. And with that, the two march forward.

As they walk, they discover an intimidating castle perched at the peak of the mountain. Suddenly, a small light quickly flies away from the castle and into the distance.

"What's that?" Aqua asks.

James observed the light and responds, "Looked like a Heart to me."

Aqua's eyes widen, "Really? Do you think Ven could be in there?" She asks hopefully.

James shrugs, "It could be Terra. Either way we had better go take a look inside." Aqua nods and continues her path up the road with James beside her.

Once they had entered, strange creatures had spotted the two, "Intruders!" One of them yell.

The two summon their Keyblades, "Not the warmest greeting we've ever had." James says.

Aqua hums, "They aren't Heartless, or Unversed. Should we really fight them?"

James nods, "I get where you're coming from, but we need to figure out wha-." Suddenly, Starlight began to emanate a strange energy as James' Wayfinder started glowing green.

Aqua looks in surprise, "Jim? What's happening?"

James shakes his head, "I don't know! Starlight's never done this before!" Starlight suddenly started pointing down one of the path ways and launched an Aero spell. It was then that James felt a wave come over him, allowing him to understand, "It's Ven! He's here!"

Aqua gasped, "Are you sure?" She asked. James stared into her eyes with unwavering conviction. She smiles back, "Then we better hurry!" The two friends rushed into the fray, fighting their way through the castle as they made their way to Ventus.

"_Aqua was right. With these Wayfinders, our bond will never fail to connect us."_ James thinks to himself.

After fighting their way into a tower, they heard Ventus shouting, "There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!" James nudged Aqua and gestured in the direction of Ventus' voice.

They saw him looking up at a woman who wore all black with horns atop her head and a staff in her hands, "You don't believe me?" She asks him.

James eyes the scene with concern, _"She looks way too confident to be bluffing, but how does she know Terra? And what did he supposedly do?"_

"That's unfortunate," she continued, "for he agreed so easily."

Ventus' resolve began to weaken, "He did?" He asks.

Unable to hide any longer, Aqua rushed out to him, "Ven! Don't be fooled!" Aqua said as she rushed out towards him.

James sighed, _"So much for the element of surprise!"_ He thinks with a mental groan, _"Oh well. In for a penny…" _James leaps up to the walls and runs along them towards the sorceress.

Ventus turns and sees them both, "Aqua! Jim!" He exclaims.

Aqua looks at him with sincerity in her eyes, "Terra would never do that. You know that as well as I do."

Ven smiled and offered his friend a nod, "Yeah."

The sorceress speaks up to interrupt the two, "Ahh… The truth can be most cruel, even amongst the closest of friends."

James leaps from the wall towards the enemy, "Shut your damn mouth!" He shouts as he lunges starlight at her, "Light!" A pillar of light struck from the ceiling and hit the sorceress dead on.

"Curse you, welp!" She then launches a lime green fireball at him, sending James to the floor.

"Jim!" Ventus calls out and rushes to help him up.

James lets out a groan, "I'm ok." He tells the boy before looking up at the dark woman, "You can spout all the nonsense you want! But we know Terra! He'd never align himself with the likes of you of his own free will!"

The sorceress merely chuckles darkly, "You truly are fools, the lot of you. After all, one never knows the secrets of another's heart." She then looks to the three of them, "I'm sure you'll agree… Ventus… Aqua… James." The use of their names surprised all three of them, but they remained silently ready.

Aqua broke the silence when she turned to face Ventus, "The Master sent me." She told him, "Ven…let's go home." She says, holding her hand out for him.

Ventus looks away, "But Terra…"

James walks up and puts his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Terra's fine. Aqua and I will catch up with him at some point."

Aqua nods, "Terra's not ready to leave yet."

Ventus sighs, "Sorry, Aqua. Sorry, Jim." He says, "But… I can't go with you." Aqua tilts her head slightly, "It's just…" Ventus says, "I have to find him before it's too late!" He then turns and rushes off.

"Ven!" Aqua calls, but James stops her, "We'll deal with him later! We still have her to deal with!" He says, raising Starlight against the sorceress.

The sorceress smiles, "I see you each wield a Keyblade as well."

Aqua glares at her, "How do you know about the Keyblade?" She demands.

The sorceress' expression shifts, "A source of power… A key that opens the hearts of men, of entire worlds… and allows one to obtain anything and everything. Such a power I find most fascinating."

James tightens his grip, "You think the Keyblade is just another weapon? You don't know near as much as you think!"

She sneers at him, "Is that so? Tell me, how is your home…...Daybreak Town, these days?"

Rage flares inside of James, "What did you just say?!" He shouts through gritted teeth.

The sorceress smiles again, "Oh dear! Perhaps I have touched a nerve?" She says sarcastically followed by a light chuckle, "How awful of me."

Aqua, meanwhile, looked disheartened, "So, Terra… he really…"

The sorceress' smile turned more sinister, "Yes. Now, my dear, would you like to assist me, as well?"

James suddenly leapt into the air, "GO TO HELL!" He screams and swings his Keyblade down on the woman's head.

Before it could hit it's mark however, he was blocked by a familiar black blade. It was that of the Entity which attacked him before, except this one's physique was different. More feminine.

The sorceress saw this and narrowed her eyes, "Intriguing." She mumbles to herself. James regained his footing after the Entity threw him back, standing beside Aqua.

The two of them prepared to fight, "We'll never help you!" Aqua declared.

"I see, Xehanort was right." Said the sorceress. "You are a most stubborn lot."

The two were shocked by this discovery, "Master Xehanort?" She wonders aloud.

James looks at her, "How do you-."

"It seems you need time to consider my offer." The sorceress interrupts, "Fortunately, I have the perfect place." She then raises her scepter and stabs it in the ground, surrounding the two in a magic seal.

The Entity takes this opportunity and moves to directly in front of James, "Home…." It says in the same raspy voice as before.

Aqua glares at it, "What are you?! What do you want with my friend?" The Entity ignores her and sinks into the floor and vanishes. The seal turns into a Dark Corridor and the two fall into its black void.

They land inside a different room, presumably, in the same castle. Aqua's first instinct was to check on James, "Jim? Jim, are you alright?"

James stands up, "If you mean the fall, yeah I'm fine. If you're referring to the Entity, I'll worry about them later. Let's focus on finding a way out of here." It's at this moment, that they notice they weren't alone. A young man chained by his wrists and ankles sat on the far side of the room.

He looked at the both of them, "Who are you?" He asks.

They walk up to the young man, "My name is Aqua, and this is my friend Jim." She tells him.

James looks around the cell, "It looks like we were caught in a trap." He says before turning back to the man, "Why are you here?"

The young man scowled, "To prevent me from breaking her evil curse." He tells them, "I was to meet the most beautiful girl at a cottage in the glen, but now my true love lies in an eternal slumber… and only I can break the spell."

Aqua and James share knowing looks with each other, "We're familiar with such curses." He says, "A friend of mine was struck by a similar spell not too long ago."

The young man's gaze softened, "I am truly sorry for your friend."

James smiled, "Don't worry. She's fine now. And once we get out of here, so will this 'true love' of yours."

Aqua smiles, "You must really love her."

"Is what you said true?" Asks a new voice. James and Aqua turn to see three women wearing dresses of red, blue, and green respectively.

The young man nodded, "Yes. Maleficent told me."

The one in red gasped, "Oh, Prince Phillip! It's you!"

James stepped towards the women, "Can someone get me and my friend up to speed? We want to help, but we need more information."

The three women then introduced themselves as the three good fairies; Flora in red, Fauna in green, and Merriweather in blue. "Maleficent is a dark fairy, and master of this castle." Flora explains.

Aqua nodded, "She must've been the one we met then."

James nodded, "No doubt." He says before summoning his Keyblade, "Now then, let's get out of here." He taps Starlight against each of Phillip's bonds and they instantly open.

He rises to his feet as Flora approaches him, "Now, Phillip. The road to true love may be barred by many more dangers which you alone will have to face."

Aqua looks to the fairies, "I'm going with you." She states.

James nods, "Me too. Maleficent tried to make us lose faith in our friend. This is personal." He told them. Of course, he knew Aqua could tell that it was a front, and nothing more. In truth, they were starting to believe a Princess of Heart may be in danger, and that Phillip is connected to her, just as Snow White was to her Prince.

Flora nods, "Yes, of course, dears." She then turns away, "Now, come along. We must hurry to Aurora." And so, the group set out with speed as they fought their way out of the castle.

The fight on their way out, was much more intimidating than their fight to get in. Maleficent wanted no chance of the Prince reaching Princess Aurora. To assist him, the three good fairies gave Phillip a magic Shield of Bravery and Sword of Truth. With these weapons, Prince Phillip fought alongside Aqua and Jim as they made their way out of the castle.

They reached their final obstacle. The main gate closed with the courtyard swarming with soldiers. Archers on the upper level ready to strike from above, and the wheel that opens the gate under heavy guard.

James looked to his allies, "Aqua, if you can open the gate, I'll deal with the archers."

Phillip raised his sword, "I'll distract as many of the soldiers as I can."

Aqua nodded, "Ok. Let's do this!"

Phillip was the first to jump into the fray. With a rather un-trained skill, his blade fended off the hordes while his shield kept his life intact.

Next was James. He leapt up the wall and attacked the row of archers from the side with a Strike Raid, killing most and sending the rest over the side. He didn't slow down for a moment as he immediately went towards the next row of archers.

Finally, was Aqua. She used her shotlock, Bubble Blaster, to make short work of most of the guards, using her Spell Weaver technique to clear the rest of them away from the gate's controls. Once clear, Flora used her magic to open the gate, permitting everyone to fight their way through the enemy ranks and escape.

Now that they escaped the castle, the only task that remained, was reaching the Kingdom where Aurora was being kept, and the path was littered with Unversed.

James summoned Starlight, "Was wondering when these guys were gonna show up!"

Aqua summoned her Keyblade as well, "At least it confirms our suspicions." She says, referring to their theory on Aurora being a Princess of Heart.

James looked to Phillip and the good fairies, "You guys need to march ahead! We'll deal with these guys and keep up as best we can!"

Phillip looked hesitant, "I can't! There's too many, you two could never-."

"Don't underestimate us!" Aqua says, "We have friends that believe in us, and that belief will give us the strength we need." She then looks to Phillip, "Aurora needs you. Don't keep her waiting." Phillip nodded reluctantly, mounted his steed, and charged ahead.

James and Aqua then donned their Keyblade armors and used their full power to quickly obliterate the Unversed, allowing them to remove their armor and run to catch up with Phillip.

When they reunited with Phillip, his path was blocked by wicked thorny trees that were impassible. Fauna was about to cast a spell, when James and Aqua leapt in front, "Ready Jim?" She asks as she raises her Keyblade and points it at the trees.

James does the same, "Always!" The two Keys shine together and fire a singular, highly concentrated, beam towards the trees, creating an arch-like path forward that the group ran down immediately. Once they were nearing the castle, Maleficent appeared before them, a look of irritation and rage clear on her face.

Aqua glared at her, "Maleficent! What did Master Xehanort tell you?"

James gripped his Keyblade tighter, "And, where is he? What have you done with him?"

Maleficent glanced at both the Keyblade Master and Wielder, "Such a pity, children, that you don't have Terra's gift for obedience." She tells them, "Nor can you see how easy it was for him."

James grit his teeth, "Enough!" He shouted, "I already told you! You can't turn us against our friend with your lies!"

Aqua nodded, "Terra would never do anything to help you!" Maleficent adopted a wicked grin, "Quite the contrary. He fully embraced the darkness within himself."

That caused Aqua to snap and she emitted a powerful wave of energy from within herself, "STOP LYING!" She screamed.

Maleficent folded her arms, "See for yourself-All the powers of hell!" She opens her arms wide and a massive lime green energy erupts from Maleficent, transforming her into a massive and ferocious dragon.

James' eyes widened, "What?! How did she-."

"I'll take her!" Aqua yells, charging straight towards Maleficent. She struck Maleficent's maw with a furious barrage of attacks, causing the dragon to slam her fore legs to the ground, using the shockwave to send Aqua flying.

"I got you!" James yells as he jumps up and catches her. He looked at her, "I get why you're so angry, believe me! But if we don't do this as a team, she'll kill all three of us!"

Aqua regained her breath, "Ok. You're right. And I've got a plan." She gets up and points to her legs, "You and I need to pin her down. If she can't move, we'll limit her options. That'll allow Phillip to use his enchanted blade to finish her."

James grins, "Now we're talking!" He looks to Phillip, "Stay back and wait for our signal!" He nods as the two others charge ahead towards the Mistress of Evil.

James was the first to move, "Union Ragnarök!" He unleashes a massive Shotlock spread attack towards Maleficent's fore legs on each side.

This allowed Aqua to move in with her Keyblade, "Splashza!" She calls, firing a massive water stream into Maleficent's torso. The dragon tried to counter with her fire breath, but Phillip rushed in front and used his shield, which created a massive barrier that protected them.

Just as the flames were dying out, Aqua and Jim leapt up. "Bubble Blaster!" Aqua calls, firing her Shotlock.

"Thundaga!" James shouts with Starlight raised skyward.

The bubbles were struck and absorbed the electricity, **"Thunder Bubble Barrage!"** The two of them shouted together. The combo attack struck Maleficent mercilessly, dealing catastrophic damage unto her.

James looks back, "NOW!"

The three fairies rushed to Phillips' side as he raised his sword. "All together…" Flora says, "Now sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die, and good endure!" They cast a spell on Phillips' sword, causing it to glow radiantly. Phillip took his sword and threw it clean into Maleficent's chest, piercing her heart. The dragon fell to the ground, regaining her normal form.

Aqua looked to Phillip, "Hurry to the Princess! We'll finish things here." He nods and runs off.

James glares at Maleficent, "You could never have stopped him. Even if Aqua and I had never intervened."

Aqua raises her Keyblade, "It's the power of true love that defeated you." She spits at the sorceress.

Maleficent limped forward, "I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love." She says.

Aqua's eyes narrow, "You don't even know the first thing about it." She says as she lowers her Keyblade, "You're not worth the effort anymore. You're too clouded by darkness to see that there's something greater." She turns her back on Maleficent, "Try all you want, but you'll never defeat a heart filled with light."

"Perhaps." Maleficent says, "But remember one thing-as long as there is light, there will be darkness." She states forebodingly.

James steps forward with power in his step, "And as long as there is darkness, there will be me to fight back against it. You'll never have your way again, Maleficent. I swear it!" Maleficent swallows her next comment and disappears.

Aqua grips her Wayfinder, "Terra… You better stay strong for me."

James looks up to the sky, "I know this is a bad time…. but we gotta acknowledge the Pink Elephant in the room here. She was working with Xehanort."

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Maleficent sure knows how to bring out the worst in our heroes, but ultimately, she stood no chance! The Entity, however, seems like quite the anomaly and has quite the fixation on our dear friend James. Tell me in the reviews, who or what do you think the Entity is? I'm really curious to see what your thoughts are on the matter. AS ALWAYS, let me know what you think; like it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Let me know, and I can make this an even greater story just for you guys!)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Strength of True Love

(Shorter than usual, but I hope you all accept this early update to make up for my long absence)

Shortly after Maleficent fled, James looked to Aqua, "Are you sure that true love was the deciding factor?" He asks.

Aqua turns to him and nods with a smile, "Of course. It's the only way to break the curse she placed on the Princess." She then looks up at the castle fondly, "It's so strong and beautiful, that it can overcome anything."

James hangs his head, "Not in my experience…" He mumbles grimly.

Aqua raises an eyebrow, "Hm? What did you say Jim?" She asks curiously.

James turns away, "It's nothing. I just… I guess I don't get the whole 'True Love conquers all' thing."

Aqua smirks teasingly, "Does that mean you've never had a girlfriend? Or even gone on a date?"

James whips his head to face Aqua, "Wh-what the heck does that have to do with anything!?" He asks with a light blush on his face.

Aqua laughs, "Oh come on, I'm just kidding!" She tells him.

Before their banter can continue any longer, the three good fairies fly towards them with smiles on their faces, "It worked!" Fauna rejoices.

"The spell is broken and Aurora is safe!" Merriweather cheers.

Flora curtseys to James and Aqua, "We can't thank you enough for the part you played in saving our dear Aurora."

Aqua smiles, "It's fine. We're just glad we could help!"

James hummed, "One thing we never solved was, what was with the Heart we saw flying away from Maleficent's castle?"

Aqua nodded, "Yeah… if I remember right, it was flying in this direction."

Fauna flew slightly closer, "That must have been Aurora's Heart!" She exclaims.

Flora nodded, "Yes. Just after Ventus freed it from Maleficent's wicked grasp."

Aqua and James gasped, "You know Ven?" He asks.

"Do you know where he is now?" Aqua inquires.

Merriweather shook her head, "No. We got separated by Maleficent." Aqua became slightly disheartened.

James sighed, "Alright, time to bite the bullet, do you three know if a man named Terra came through here? Maleficent claims he helped her."

Flora nodded, "Yes, we heard the same from Maleficent. And I fear it must be true." She says solemnly.

Aqua glares at the fairies, "You're wrong!" She yells, startling the four others around her, "Terra would never do that! I know him! I've known him my whole life! He never has, and never will hurt anyone!"

James approached Aqua and slapped Aqua across the face, "Get a damn grip Aqua!" He shouts, stunning Aqua silent, "We both know that Terra's struggling with the darkness in his heart. And Maleficent is clearly a master of manipulation. She was able to get both of us to act out of rage with her words alone. She could easily have exploited the darkness in Terra and forced him to do it against his will."

Aqua simply continued to stare at her friend, "I agree. In his right mind, Terra would never imprison another's Heart! But that doesn't change the fact that only a Keyblade can do that! We arrived after the fact, Ventus freed the heart, and never saw Terra here. For all we know, whether we like it or not, he's the only suspect."

Aqua rubbed her cheek that was slapped, "You're right." She says, "I don't want to believe it, but he's the only person we know that doesn't have an alibi." She looks up to James, "Thanks Jim. And I'm sorry for yelling, I wasn't in my right mind."

James smiles back at her, "I know the feeling. All too well, in fact."

Flora approached the two of them, "I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help. But I hope you find your friends well." And with that, the three fairies disappeared.

Aqua grips her Wayfinder, "Terra… You better stay strong for me."

James looks up to the sky, "I know this is a bad time…. but we gotta acknowledge the Pink Elephant in the room here. She was working with Xehanort."

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Thanks to InfernoKnightmare for your Chirithy theory about the Entity. It's clearly well thought out and I found the concept intriguing. I won't say whether you're right or not, because I want to keep it a surprise. Anyways, like it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Lemme know in a review so I can make this story better for you guys. Thank you so much for being patient with me, and I hope the next chapter will be up quickly. I'm excited for it, really. Also, I'd like your opinion; do you wanna see more of the Entity or less? Lemme know and I'll make it happen.)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Radiant Garden (Part 1)

(A/N: Ok, so I actually have a decent excuse this time. I came down with the flu almost immediately after sending that last chapter and it knocked me out for a week. Don't worry, I'm fine now, and plan to get back to the grind straight away. I'm very sorry for yet another late update, and I promise to try and do better.)

Aqua and James flew through the Space between Worlds to their next destination, as they flew however, Aqua's mind kept pondering what James had told her about Xehanort.

_Flashback_

_ "What do you mean Maleficent was working with Master Xehanort?" She asked. _

_ He looked at her, "Aqua, she called me 'James' but you, Ven, and Terra all call me Jim. She couldn't have known my full name unless someone who knows told her. Masters Xehanort and Eraqus are the only people I can think of who know my name, but don't use my nickname. And we both know Master wouldn't align with Maleficent." _

_Aqua sighed, "But do you really think Master Xehanort would?" _

_James shrugs, "How much do any of us actually know about Master Xehanort?" There was a brief silence, "Until we learn more, we have to proceed knowing that Master Xehanort could be an enemy."_

_Flashback End_

"Aqua! Snap out of it!" James yells. Aqua's head jolts slightly and looks over to him. "Check that out over there!" He says, pointing directly ahead of them.

She follows his gaze and sees a familiar Keyblade Glider, "Terra." She said, "Where's he going?" Just as she had finished speaking, Terra's Keyblade Glider began to glow brightly and he disappeared.

James began to pick up speed, "I think I can follow him!" He says, clutching his Wayfinder tightly, "Let's go!" Thus, the two of them start flying at full speed to find their friend, _"It's time to finally get some answers!"_ James thought to himself. Though he hated to admit it, he was fairly certain he knew what was happening to his friend.

When the two of them touched down, they found themselves in a rather elegant courtyard. Aqua looked around her new environment, "You ever seen this world before, Jim?"

James shook his head, "No, this world is new to me. And it kinda feels different from the others. Can't pin down why though." Just then Aqua spotted an elderly duck walking down the path.

James spotted him as well, and looked back to Aqua, "First time seeing an Anthromorph?" He asks.

Aqua blinked and turned back to him, "A what?"

"An Anthromorph." He repeats, "A humanoid being that takes the physical form of an animal. In this case, a duck."

Aqua nodded, then remembered why they arrived in this world, "He might know where Terra is!" She then rushes off.

James sighs, _"I think I'm starting to figure out why she's so obsessed with finding Terra. I just hope she knows what she's doing."_ He thinks as he walks after her.

Aqua approaches the duck, "Excuse me." She calls out, getting his attention, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, sir." She says.

The duck smiles, "Ach, what a well-mannered lass ye are." He tells her with a Scottish accent, "I'd be pleased as punch to help ye, if I can."

Aqua kneels down to speak to the duck at eye level, "I'm looking for a boy who's not from around here. Have you seen him?" The duck hummed for a brief moment, "I think I know just who you're talking about. He scampered off toward yon castle in a right hurry."

James smiled as he approached, "What is it with our friends and castles these days?" He asks Aqua with a laugh.

She giggles before looking back to the duck, "Thank you so much." The duck offered a friendly smile and went back on his way. Aqua rose to her feet and eyed the castle, "Terra… I hope you're still there."

James put his hand on her shoulder, "We'll find him. And we'll help him." He tells her. Aqua smiles gratefully at him before they make their way towards the castle.

They walked their way up the steps when they heard a young girl scream, they then saw a little girl with red hair and a small bouquet of flowers in her hand running away from some unversed. "No! Run!" Aqua yelled, but it was too late. The little girl had gotten herself cornered. She looked up in fear as the Unversed was about to attack. She closed her eyes and…

"Gyah!" James cries out as the Unversed strikes him instead. The little girl opens her eyes as James turns to face the creature, "Didn't anyone ever teach you it's not nice to pick on girls?" He says before punting the Unversed away.

Aqua then slashed through it and met up with the two, "Jim, are you alright?"

He waved it off, "Not important right now. Let's focus on getting her to safety." The little girl looked up at Aqua, her small hand pressed on Aqua's Keyblade.

Aqua's eyes widened at the small contact her fingers were making with the child's, _"I can feel the Light." _There was no more time to focus on this, as the Unversed were ready to strike.

James summoned Starlight into his hands, "You handle them, I'll make sure the little one stays safe."

Aqua looked at him, "Alright. I'll make this quick." Just before she could counter a leaping Unversed, a small mouse, wielding a strange Keyblade struck it out of the sky and landed in front of Aqua, James and the girl.

He looked back, "Hurry! You've gotta get that little girl back to someplace that's safe!" He says in a high-pitched voice.

Aqua looks astonished at his Keyblade, "Who are you? Why do you have a Keyblade?" She asks.

The mouse looks back at her, "I'll tell ya later. Right now, we gotta stop these things!"

James nodded, "I'll get her out of here." He picks up the girl and looks to Aqua, "You stay and back him up. Something tells me this little mouse is a pretty big deal." Aqua nods.

Once James and the girl are a safe distance, he sets her down and looks her over, "Are you ok? Did those monsters hurt you at all?" He asks her.

She shakes her head, "No. Thank you for saving me." She says with a small smile.

James chuckled and patted her head, "My pleasure. I love knocking around those bullies." She giggles as he ruffles her hair, but then he winces as the pain from his injury.

The child noticed this and pointed to it, "Does it hurt?"

He puts on a smile, "Nah, not at all." He says unconvincingly. The girl looks at him, unconvinced, _"Note to self: Don't become an actor."_ He thinks to himself before shaking his head, "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."

Seemingly ignoring him, the little girl digs into her pocket and pulls out a band-aid and offered it to him with a smile, "Here ya go! This'll help you feel all better!"

James couldn't help but smile and accept the band-aid, "Thank you very much, little one. My name's Jim."

She smiles back, "I'm Kairi. Nice to meet you Jim!" Just then, a series of bubbles flew up into the air.

James smiled, "That's the signal. Guess those monsters are gone now. Shall we?" Kairi nods and follows him back to where they first found her.

Aqua kneeled down again, "Thank you." She tells the mouse, "My name is Aqua, and that's James, but we just call him Jim. We train under Master Eraqus."

The mouse smiled, "And I'm Mickey. I used to be Yen Sid's apprentice. I came back to him for some more training."

Aqua nodded and James shook hands with Mickey, "It's a pleasure to meet you." He tells him.

Mickey lets out a laugh, "Likewise, Jim."

Aqua looked over to Kairi, "I sense light within this girl. You think that's why they attacked her?"

Mickey nodded, "Yep, I think ya might be absolutely right." He tells her, "If ya ask me, she must be somebody pretty extraordinary."

James looked at Kairi, _"Are these two suggesting she's a Princess of Heart?"_ He studies her a moment longer, _"Well, I guess if Alice can be one, little Kairi here certainly can."_

Aqua nodded, "Yes. I'm quite certain she's someone we're supposed to protect."

Mickey extended his hand, "Let's join forces!" Just then, his pocket began to glow, "Oh no! Not now!" He says in a panic. James quickly pulls Kairi back as Mickey gets enveloped in a light, "I'll be ok!" He then turns into a shooting star and hits himself against the castle as he rises, "See ya real soon!"

Kairi then held out the flowers she was holding to Aqua, "Here!" She says.

Aqua smiles, "Are these for me?" She asks.

Kairi smiles and nods, "I picked you some flowers. Thank you for saving me."

Aqua's smile widened, "But wait, what about Jim? He helped a lot too."

Jim smirked and revealed the band-aid over his injury, "She already got me something." He says.

Aqua resists the urge to laugh, and takes the flowers from the child, "Oh, they're lovely. You're so sweet."

The child bounces on her feet slightly, "My name's Kairi. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Aqua." She then paused slightly, "Kairi, about that light-."

"Kairi!" called an elderly woman who was walking along the path.

Kairi looked to her with a smile, "Oh! Grandma!"

James shrugs, "You better head on back. You've had a big day, Little Red." He says ruffling her hair again, generating another laugh from the child.

Aqua looked back at the girl, "Wait, Kairi, just a minute…" Aqua then placed two of her fingers on the little charm on Kairi's necklace, causing the charm to glow for a brief instance, "I just cast a magic spell on you. One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe."

Kairi gets a large, happy grin on her face, "Thanks!" She tells her before leaving to go with her grandmother.

James looks down at Aqua, "Who do you think the light will lead her to when the time comes?" He asks her.

Aqua shakes her head, "Who knows?" She says honestly, "But whoever it is. It'll be someone very important to her. Someone she knows that she can trust with all her heart."

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! A couple of things I wanna talk about. First off, I chose to break this world into a two-parter since this is such an important world in the story of Birth by Sleep for our Wayfinder Trio. Second, those who played Union Cross probably got curious as to why Jim and Mickey didn't seem to know each other. The reason is because that part honestly seemed like empty filler for the game. What's more, it just didn't seem to make sense being there to me, so as far as I'm concerned, this is there first-time meeting. Third, since this world is a two-parter, I'm not going to give it a little side-story chapter, so I apologize if you were expecting that, but I didn't wanna make three chapters about a single world. With that out of the way, did ya like it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Lemme know in a review. I always read every review I get, sometimes you guys give me great ideas, and credit is always given to the person who inspired it, if I choose to use it. The criticisms are useful to me as well. If I'm doing something wrong, I wanna know so I can change it, and make this story even better for you guys. After all, that's why we write these stories, isn't it? To give you readers something interesting to read? Anyways, I've babbled long enough. See ya next time!)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Radiant Garden (Part 2)

(A/N: School is a bitch. That's my excuse. Enjoy.)

With Kairi safe and sound again, Aqua and James were able to return to their mission of finding Ventus and Terra. Just as they started down the path, James nudged her, "Aqua, look!" She looked to her right and saw a large Unversed.

She groaned, "They never end!"

James smirks, "We'll fix that problem! Let's go after it!" She nods and they hurried off after the strange Unversed. They followed it to a large open area and discovered Terra standing there. They quickly rushed over to him.

Once they reached him, they saw Ven run up as well, "Ven!" James, Aqua and Terra exclaimed.

"Terra! Aqua! Jim!" Ven replied.

James summoned Starlight, "Fight now, catch up later!" He said. The three nod as three different Unversed suddenly merged to create a giant monster.

James and Terra rushed the arms of the Unversed while Ven attacked the midsection in a flurry, with Aqua hanging back and casting attack magic at the head. The four of them were fighting perfectly in sync and, if only for a moment, James felt surprisingly relaxed for the situation. They may have been fighting for their lives right now, but this felt very much like the many different training sessions they went through together.

The Unversed tried to unleash a volley of fire balls, "I got 'em!" Ventus calls out as he casts Aeroga to create a powerful wind current that redirected the attack back at the Unversed.

The Unversed then tried to charge directly at Terra, resulting in the Keyblade Wielder smirking, "Bring it on!" Using his strength alone, he withstood the monster's attack and forced it back, causing all the parts of it to fly out wildly.

Aqua leapt into the air, "Leave this to me!" She launched her Shotlock at the different pieces and bombarded the creature to the ground where James could be seen flying straight towards.

"Say goodnight! Faithblade!" With a single thrust of his Keyblade, a massive pillar of light erupted and consumed the Unversed, vaporizing the enemy. Against the four friends bound by their Unbreakable Connection, the Unversed stood no chance.

"Got 'em." Terra says triumphantly.

Aqua smiled, "We make a pretty good team."

James nods, "The best."

Ven nods as well, "Sure do." He says before his eyes widen, "Oh yeah! I got you these tickets." He says, holding out four Disneytown Passports.

Terra eyed them curiously, "For what?" He asks.

Ven smiles as he hands them out, "Lifetime passes to Disneytown."

James eyes his curiously, "I have no idea why, but this feels like some kind of 4th wall joke." He comments.

"He said to-." Ven says, "He said to take some grown-ups."

Aqua looked at the boy, "You mean us?" She asks, generating a laugh from the whole friend group.

Aqua put her card away, "Listen to me, Ven… We need to get you home-."

Ven shrugs, "It's okay, Aqua. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never bad-mouth Terra again."

James' ears twitched, "Guy in the mask?" He echoes, "Who are you talking about?"

Terra then gripped Ventus' arms, "You saw the boy in the mask?" He asks.

Ven looked confused at Terra, "Y-yes?"

Terra looked away, "Vanitas…" Terra says quietly. Aqua and James catch the name though.

Terra steps back from Ventus, "Ven…" He says, "You let Aqua and Jim take you home."

Ven shook his head, "No way. I wanna go with you guys."

Terra narrows his eyes, "You can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt."

James puts his hand on Ventus' shoulders, "You've been through enough already, Ven. Let us take you home, and be proud of what you've managed to achieve."

Aqua looks squarely at Terra, "And what is this dangerous task, Terra?" She asks suspiciously, "It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do."

James turns and stands in front of Ventus, facing Terra, "One instance sounds like something Maleficent told you to do." He adds with clenched fists, "Level with us, Terra. You haven't been fighting the Darkness inside you, have you?"

Terra eyed them both, "It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the Darkness." He claims.

Aqua looks sadly at her friend, "I'm not so sure." She tells him, "I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done."

James summons Starlight, "Does the name Princess Aurora mean anything to you, Terra?"

Aqua takes a step forward, "You shouldn't put yourself so close to the Darkness."

Ventus pushes James aside, "Listen to yourselves, the both of you! Terra would never-."

"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra interrupts, "Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders."

James steps between Terra and Aqua, "Terra, I've seen Keyblade Wielders go dark before. And they all did the same kind of stuff you've been doing. Aqua and I are only doing what we've been doing because we don't want to lose you to the Darkness." He grips his Wayfinder, "I, don't want to lose anyone else to the Darkness."

Ventus looked down, "Jim… Aqua…"

Terra closed his eyes, "I get it." He says before turning away.

"Terra!" James yells, "You are balancing between the lines of Light and Darkness. When we see you next, you need to decide which side of the line you want to be on."

Terra stops and looks back at him, "What will you do if I don't pick your side?" He asks.

James grips Starlight tighter, "What I must." He answers. Terra says nothing and continues down his path.

Ventus looks at James, "You're awful, Jim!" He says.

Aqua steps between them, "Ven, please listen-."

"No! You're just as guilty as he is!" He says.

Aqua grips her Wayfinder, "So now you know the truth." She tells Ventus, "But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too."

Ven's eyes widen for a brief moment, "Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?"

James steps forward, "Your training isn't complete, you weren't ready to face the different Worlds on your own yet." He explains.

Ventus doesn't react, he keeps looking at Aqua, waiting for her answer, but it doesn't come. She looks away. Ven glared at her, "Aqua… Now that you're a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra." He then bolts off on his own path.

"Forever and always." James says aloud, "That's what you said the night before the Mark of Mastery. The night before all this." He turns to face her, "I wanted to believe you were right. To believe that things would be different this time. But, deep in my Heart. I knew it was too good to be true." James takes his Wayfinder from his neck and stuffs it in his pocket.

Aqua looked back at him, "Terra… Ven… I'm not ready to give up on them." She states softly.

James grimaces for a moment before sighing, "Well then, I guess that's the new objective." He tells her, "I don't know where I stand anymore on the bonds between friends, but if you think you can reconnect with them, then I wanna help you."

The two of them hurried through the streets to try and find Terra and/or Ventus, but they were stopped by a boy wearing a mask, presumably the one Ventus and Terra mentioned.

"A mask?" Aqua said, "You're the boy that Ventus mentioned."

"Ah yes, Ventus." Said Vanitas, "Tell me something, has he learned to put up a decent fight yet?"

James glared at the masked boy, "What did you say, you punk?"

"I'll be asking the questions." Vanitas says quickly, "And why shouldn't I? After all, between the three of us… I'm the only one who will walk away from here alive." Aqua summoned her Keyblade and James did the same, but Vanitas waved his finger, "Now, now. Two on one hardly seems fair. I'll take on the girl. You can play with my new friend."

Just then, James sensed an attack coming and narrowly dodged a strike from the Entity, except this time, their physique was much large and muscular. James assumed his stance, "Fine by me! I owe this thing some payback anyhow." He then glances towards Aqua, "Can you take him alone?"

She nods, "Leave it to me."

While Aqua and Vanitas begin their battle, James kicks things off with his. The Entity summoned additional Keyblades and launched them at James, but he narrowly evaded the attacks, deflecting those he couldn't dodge. He counters with a Wind Storm attack to barrage the Entity with attacks before raising Starlight skyward, "Thundara!" He says before viciously blasting the Entity with lightning. James landed several feet away, "This time, you're gonna give me some answers! Starting with what you are!" He says before re-entering the fray.

The two exchange blows for a decent while, but James maintains a solid advantage over the Entity. Suddenly though, the Entity splits into three beings, each one looking like the previous encounters he's had with them. James began to get overwhelmed by their numbers before using Stop to halt them long enough for him to take aim, "Union Ragnarök!" He fires his Shotlock and destroys the duplicates before rushing the original with a thrust attack that ran the Entity through, causing their arms to fall limp. The Entity stared deep into James' eyes, "Home…" They say.

James grits his teeth, "What do you mean?!" He shouts.

He is startled when the entity replies, "Day…. Break …..." before fading into the shadows.

James turns to help Aqua, only to see her Shotlock knock Vanitas to the floor. Aqua slowly walks towards Vanitas, "Who are you?" She says as she grasps his helmet. She jolts back when she hears Vanitas burst into laughter.

James and Aqua re-entered their fighting stances and prepared to fight again as Vanitas rose to his feet, "Not bad at all. Congratulations, to the both of you." He says as a Dark Corridor opens behind him, "I'll keep you around." He then turns away from them, "Never hurts to have a backup." Before walking into the corridor and vanishing.

Aqua looks on, "I have to stop him…" She says, "Before anything else happens to Terra and Ven.

James puts his hand on her shoulder, "WE, will stop him. No matter what."

"Aqua!" Ven calls out as he rushes to them. James tenses, after their last conversation, he's not entirely sure he's Ven's friend anymore.

"Ven." Aqua says, "Were you able to find him?"

Ventus nods, "Yeah, but… He's gone."

Aqua turns away from him, "Right." She says before looking away from him, "Then I can't stay here."

Ven smiles, "Let me go with you guys, Aqua."

Aqua turns back to face him, "No, Ven." She says sharply, "Do as I say and go home."

Ventus sighs, "Why won't you let me?" He asks. He then turns to James, "Jim! Tell her to let me help!"

But he doesn't say anything. He looks away from them both.

Aqua speaks up again, "I don't want to put you in harm's way." She says before touching his shoulder, "You understand?" She then activates her armor and looks back at James, "You coming?" She asks.

James hesitates for a moment, but nods, _"I need to get more information from the Entity. The best way to do that is to keep helping Aqua for now. I wish I still had a better reason, but now…" _He dons his armor, _"Now I don't know anymore."_

(That's it for this Chapter! Ok, wow. That was a lot heavier on the emotions for me to write than I thought it was gonna be, but here we are. If I had to guess, I'd say we're roughly around the halfway point. Lemme know what you think in the reviews, and thanks again so very much for your patience in dealing with my absolutely horrible work ethic.)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Olympus Coliseum

(A/N: I hate how routine this is for me, but I'm sorry for being ridiculously late. My reasoning is important though! And I'll leave that for after the chapter. Please read it, as I will also be asking for input from you readers. Your patience is deeply appreciated by me, and I hope I can continue to entertain you.)

As the two traveled to the next world, Aqua glanced over at James sadly, _"I can't believe I let us spiral out of control like that. Maybe Jim was right all those years ago…" _She shakes her head furiously, _"No. I won't give up that easily. I know we can get through to Terra. And Ven just needs time to understand. I can't lose faith. Not in my friends." _

They soon arrive in Olympus Coliseum, a world that James frequented in order to train. James looks around with a neutral expression, "What made you choose to come here, Aqua?" He asks curiously.

Aqua shrugs, "I'm not really sure." She says as she raises a hand to her chest, "I just felt this strange pulling sensation in my heart…. And it brought us here."

James nodded, "Terra and Ven." He says simply.

Aqua smiles, "Yes. They've been here. I can feel it."

James looks away with a sigh, "Then let's give this place the once over." Upon reaching the main gate of the coliseum, Aqua and James suddenly get ambushed by a swarm of Unversed.

Just as they summoned their Keyblades, a small Satyr jumped out and begun striking ridiculous poses, "Stand bac, sweetcheeks. I'll take care of this." He says confidently. Aqua looked at the Satyr with shock, clearly not appreciating the nickname he gave her.

James steps forward, "Forget it." He says, "She's tougher than you've ever been. Leave this to us."

Seemingly heeding his request, Phil runs off shouting, "Herc, they're all yours!" Just then, a scrawny young man in a white toga runs up and prepares to fight the Unversed. Aqua and James have no time to object, however, as the Unversed begin they're attack.

The battle was short and near effortless for the two wielders of the Keyblade. The young boy, Herc, proved to be much stronger than he initially appeared, having thrown a number of heavier Unversed using his muscle strength alone. However, it was clear he still did not know how to properly use this strength of his.

Once the battle was over, the Satyr returned, "Oy! Those wackos almost made gyros outta me!"

The young boy smirked, "Well, maybe if you weren't trying to show off…"

The Satyr sneered, "Who asked you, kid? You'll understand more when you're older."

The boy looked down, "And stronger… Strong enough to be a hero."

Aqua turns to him, "You think being strong is the same as being a hero?"

He turns to her, "Sure-mostly. Look at how strong Terra is, and he's champion!"

The name strikes a chord with both James and Aqua, "Terra?" She echoes.

James immediately walks up to the boy, "Did he, at any point, speak with a man in black with blue flames on his head?" He asks demandingly.

The Satyr jumps slightly, "You mean Hades?! What the heck would Hades want with that guy?" He asks.

James clenches his fists tightly, to the point that they're shaking, "Plenty…" He says with scorn.

Aqua looks at James for a moment and is about to inquire about Terra again when the Satyr walks up to her, "So, sugarcakes… You got any plans for later?" He asks, "You know, I've trained a few heroes in my time. Maybe I could recite ya a little epic poetry."

James' Starlight suddenly is thrust between the two of them as James glares at the Satyr, "Back off! We're here for an important reason." He tells him.

"Do you really know Terra?" Aqua asks.

The Satyr turns around, "Of course I do. He's the local hero everybody's going gaga for." He turns around, "Oh, now I get it. You're one of his fans. Everywhere I go its Terra-this, Terra-that… More like Terra-bull."

Aqua shakes her head, "Oh no, you see, I just want to track him down."

The Satyr rolls his eyes, "Yeah, tell me about it, sister. You and the rest of Greece! Kid shows up outta nowhere… goes and wins the first Games he ever enters, dazzling the whole town… and the nudnick up and vanishes!"

The young boy looks back to James and Aqua, "Everybody says Terra's the real thing. A true hero. I can't wait till I'm that tough."

The Satyr scoffs, "Pfft, right. He's so tough that he turned the last schlemiel who faced him into a raving yahoo."

Aqua raises an eyebrow, "He what?" She asks.

James looks to her, "He made his opponent go completely bonkers is the loose translation."

The boy looked at his trainer, "Come on, Phil, be nice."

Aqua looked slightly disheartened, "So you're telling me he isn't here." She says.

James shrugs, "If he's not here, Ven's probably not here either. We'd best move on and keep searching." He says.

Phil jumps slightly again, "Whoa, not so fast." He says quickly, "He may not be here right now, but ya never know. He could always decide he's gonna show up for the Games."

Herc nods, "Yeah… To defend his title."

Phil smiles, "And if you enter, there's always a chance you might run into him." He says, "I got an idea. I'll sign you up myself. You both want in, yeah?"

James shook his head, "Not me." He says simply.

Phil shrugs, "Suit yourself."

Aqua looked at James again, _"He's been acting different since we left Radiant Garden. I guess I can understand why. He probably feels like he's losing his friends all over again. I should talk to him when I get the chance."_

She then turns back to Phil, who was in the middle of a conversation with Herc, "You know, you're right. Please sign me up for the Games. My name is Aqua. Nice to meet you." She then wraps her arm around James', "And this is my friend Jim." James nods, but doesn't say much else.

Phil eyes Aqua intensely, "Likewise. Now, let's start with a few basics-."

"Thanks, I won't need a trainer." Aqua says, cutting Phil off. Phil grumbles to himself and heads off to the Vestibule.

When finally left alone, Aqua looks to James, "Are you alright? You've seemed upset ever since we saw Terra."

James sighs, "I'm just worried…" He confesses, "You, Terra and Ven are my best friends-you're practically my family! But Ven's being way too reckless and Terra…. I don't wanna think about what Terra must be having to endure." He clutches his head with his hand, "Seeing the Darkness growing in him…. I know what that means for Terra, and if he can't learn to conquer it, suppress it, then we're gonna lose him."

Aqua looks at her friend for a brief moment before smiling. She walks up to him and shoves her hand in his pocket, making him flinch, "Hey! What are-?!"

He's cut off when she pulls out his Wayfinder, "How many times to I have to tell you, silly! As long as we hold onto each other in our hearts, none of us will ever truly be lost. It just takes one of us to give all of us the strength to press on. That's the essence of our Unbreakable Connection." She says as she hangs it around his neck, just as it had been before, "Now we'll always be close to your Heart. Just like you said."

James stares blankly at the Wayfinder for a moment before smiling again, "You're right. Thanks, big sis!" He says.

Aqua recoils at the sudden title, "W-what?! 'Big sis?'" She repeats semi-embarrassed.

James chuckles, "Yeah! You're always looking out for us, and being there for all of us. You're just like a big sister!" He tells her, "Besides, I already told you that you guys are like family to me. So, what's the big deal?"

Rendered speechless for the moment, Aqua simply giggles, "You really are an interesting one, Jim. Come on. Let's head on over to the Games."

James had situated himself in the stands as Aqua went to prepare for her matches. Aqua fought her way expertly through the first ten rounds of the competition. After a brief intermission, Aqua was walking back to arena with James, Phil and Herc in tow.

Aqua looked down as she walked, "All that's left is the final… and still no sign of Terra. The guy I'm supposed to fight is someone else named Zack."

James puts a hand on her shoulder, "Relax, Aqua. We'll find him. Sooner or later, we're sure to find him."

They turned around and saw that a young man with black hair was standing directly in front of them, "Aqua, right?" He asks. Aqua and James jolt backwards in shock, "Hey, I'm Zack. Your opponent in the final." He tells them as his excitement visibly grows, "Man, finally! Once I beat you, I get to take on Terra!"

Aqua offers an awkward smile, "Terra? Why? I don't understand. Are you saying there's another match after the final?"

Zack blinks, "Uh-oh. Guess you didn't get the memo." He says before turning around and noticing the others that were with Aqua and James, "Oh, Phil! Would you tell her the rules?"

Phil turns away from Zack and grunts, "Fine, here's how it is." The Satyr begins, "The Games are divided into two brackets-you got your East, you got your West. The winners from each bracket face off in the championship match. Now, right now you are competing in the East and we got no idea about the other side. For all we know, your boy Terra could be cruisin' through over in the West."

Aqua shakes her head, "Then I shouldn't be fighting matches here. I should be over there looking for him."

She then makes her way over to the West arena when Phil rushes over to her, "No… you, uh… can't! It's not allowed." He says.

James catches up to her and grabs her arm to stop her, "Think for a second, Aqua. No way anyone here can beat Terra. If you win your way into the Championship match, then he'll come to us. And even if you don't win somehow, we'll still get to see him after the match, if he's really here, that is."

Phil nods, "Yeah! Besides, athletes are expressly forbidden from watchin' matches in the other bracket."

Aqua looks at James for a moment before nodding, "All right, then. I'll finish what I started."

Phil smiled, "You will? Oh, the gods are smilin' on me today!" He says excitedly before heading back into the Vestibule.

Herc went off to do more training as Zack approached the two, "Aqua, give it your best out there." He tells her.

Aqua smiles, "You too."

Zack suddenly begins doing squats in place, "I am so fired up!"

Aqua studies him for a moment before speaking again, "Zack, Terra is a friend of ours." She says, gesturing to herself and James, "How exactly is it that you know him?"

Zack looks back at her, "He saved my life. During the last Games… this dude named Hades tried to make Terra his pawn of darkness… and he used me to do it."

James' eyes widened, "What?! Hades went after Terra!? What happened to him? Is he ok?"

Zack was clearly taken aback by James' sudden outburst, "Yeah, he's fine!" He says assuredly, "Hades had some kind of magic or something that made me crazy, gave me weird powers that turned against Terra." He stopped his squats and looked at the two of them, "But you know what? Terra freed me. And he didn't need the darkness to do it.

Aqua pondered what Zack had told her, "I had no idea…"

Zack smiles, "Well, that's enough with the drama. I guess I'll see you in the ring, huh?" And with that, he walks inside the Vestibule.

Leaving Aqua hanging her head, "Terra…"

James nudges her, "If Hades couldn't get to him, then that means Terra is still fighting the Darkness. There's still hope for him!"

Aqua offers him a smile, "Thanks, Jim." With that done, Aqua went into the arena while James made his way to the stands.

The finals for the East bracket was about to begin and Aqua and Zack took their places in the ring. Zack's expression was completely serious, "I promised Terra I'd face him. Fair and square." He says as he draws his longsword.

Aqua's eyes narrowed, "The friendship between boys…It almost makes me jealous." She says as she summons her Keyblade and prepares to fight.

Zack starts the battle with a rush of blade strokes, 2 of which nearly hit Aqua as she blocks the third, pushing him into the air as she makes her move, attacking with Blizzara before moving in with a thrust attack. She regained her distance and shot him with Fira. Zack charged at her, but Aqua used Thundara to halt his advance, allowing her to unleash a Firestorm barrage. The two continued to clash their blades against each other with Aqua using her skill in Magic to gain a clear advantage over Zack. At the end, with one final surge of Spell Weaver, Aqua defeated Zack, throwing him to the ground.

Zack groaned in frustration, "Ugh, I lost!" He shouts before jumping back onto his feet, "I've got a long way to go if I'm gonna become a hero." He says, scratching his head with a smile. Aqua returns that smile, before she and James sensed someone approaching. Then, in an explosion of smoke, Hades himself appeared.

"You!" James shouts as he jumps into the arena with Starlight drawn.

Hades, seemingly ignoring James, looks at Aqua in unamusement, "Really-it's you?" He asks, "Here I thought I'd drop in to see which muscle-head was up next, and…" He starts walking up to them, "Holy hydras! It's just a little girl, a little lassie, a little bluebird." He says condescendingly.

Zack is about to speak up, but James beats him to it, "Hades!" He screams, getting the god's attention.

Hades turns to James with a crooked smirk, "Well lookie here. Haven't seen you in a while, JImbo. How's life? Things good? Still stabbing people in the back?" He says, spitting venom in his last comment.

James glares, "Don't try that game with me, Hades! We both know you were just trying to use me."

Hades nods, "Too true. Too true. And if you had just been a good little puppet, I could've given you enough power to stand by my side as a Prince of eternal Darkness!" He shouts dramatically, "But hey, who needs unlimited power when you've got…...'friends.'" He says mockingly. He then turns and sees Zack, "I'm sorry, is that a mosquito? Where did I put that bug spray?"

Zack stomped his foot, "Mosquito!?" He echoes.

Aqua stares up at him, "So, you're Hades. You used Zack, and tried to cast Terra into the darkness." She says.

James smirked, "And just like when you tried with me, it didn't work at all. Man, you really suck at this, don't you?"

Hades grunts in anger at that one before regaining his composure, "So I take it you're acquainted with the spineless Chickenheart."

Aqua clenches her fists, "Terra is my friend." She states, "And I hear he triumphed over the Darkness. He's not spineless."

Hades scoffed, "Funny, ya know, 'cause I heard different." He says with a confident smile, "Ya see, it was Chickenheart who asked me for a little, shall we say…instruction on how to use Darkness in the first place."

"Never!" Aqua yells.

"And he was so close to doing it, too," Hades continues, "when the sap went and got cold feet." His flames and body became a bright red for a moment, "Now if that ain't cowardly, I don't know what is. But you, my little bluebird…" He says as he approaches Aqua, "Why not flit over here and demonstrate some real courage for the winning team?" He says, extending his hand to her.

Aqua slaps it away, "The Darkness doesn't interest me!" She spits back at him.

Hades scowls, "Well, that was rude." He says, "A 'No thank you, your godliness' might've sufficed. Fortunately, I still get to," he clears his throat, "destroy you." He says before walking to the end of the arena, "Rules say, you face me next. And I have a whole lot of darkness… with your name on it!" And he vanishes with a maniacal laughter in the air.

Zack charges at him, "Come back here, Hades!" But it's too late, he was already gone. Zack clenched his fists in anger, "Man, if only I were up against him."

James recalls Starlight, "No offense, Zack, but it's probably for the best that you're not. He actually is a god, and those aren't very easy to put down."

Zack doesn't respond verbally, instead he just looks towards Aqua, "Aqua. You gotta avenge me and Terra!"

Aqua nods confidently, "I will."

James smiles, "Wish I could help you with that. I got my own beef with Hades to sort out. But it's against the rules of the Games."

Aqua smiles and puts her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry Jim. I'll be just fine handling him."

The Championship match was starting. Zack and James sat side by side in the stands as the Darkness began to surround the Coliseum. Aqua walked forward, Keyblade in hand, as she prepared herself for this battle. However, Hades was nowhere in sight. Instead, two massive hands made of ice gripped the walls of the Coliseum and revealed a massive Titan made of Ice that stepped into the ring.

Hades appeared in front of the creature. He smirked, "I never said one-on-one."

Zack rushed over, "No fair, Hades!"

James summoned Starlight, "Should've known you'd find someone else do fight your battle, you coward!"

Aqua glares, "I suppose that's in the rules." She says.

Hades raises a finger to his chin, "Rule No. 2: Combatants may call for backup. Maybe you better call yours, bluebird.

Zack and James ran to Aqua's side, "We're already here!" Zack said, but Aqua blocked their path.

James looks at her, "What gives, Aqua?"

She walks forward, "I can do this on my own!" She states confidently.

James narrows his eyes, "Doesn't mean you will!" He charges and attacks Hades with a Sonic Blade, "I'll hold off Hades! You deal with this the big chill up there!" Aqua nods, and the battle begins.

Hades envelopes himself in red flames, but James wastes no time and rushes him with several attacks with his Keyblade as Aqua launches a myriad of spells against the Ice Colossus. James leaps over the leg of the beast and points his Keyblade at Hades, "Blizzaza!" He shouts as Hades is trapped in a massive ice-berg. He then lands and swings his Keyblade rhythmically, "Blades of the Round!" He unleashes multiple flurries of Shotlock blasts that slash Hades repetitively, leaving him no room to retaliate. Hades finally breaks the chain and launches a Firaga ball at James, but he dodge-rolls under it and hits him with an Ars Arcanum that renders Hades immobile.

"I…. can't believe…. this…."

James stood tall over his foe, "You underestimated me now, just as you did then. That's why you keep losing Hades."

Meanwhile with Aqua, she had been using her Spell Weaver to dance around the legs of the Colossus while barraging them with hits as she moves. Once she reached the monster's head, she switched to Firestorm and unleashed a devastating blast that brought him down.

Hades groaned loudly as he returned to his feet, "I knew that snow cone wouldn't cut it. I need a real Titan. Stay tuned!" And with that, Hades was gone again.

After that, the Games were cancelled and Aqua, James, and Zack were leaving the Vestibule, "Stupid Hades…" Zack grumbled, "Next time, I'll put him in his place." He halted in his steps before turning to Aqua, "Oh yeah! You're the champ-we gotta celebrate!" He says.

James chuckles, "That'd be nice, but we really should get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover."

Aqua nods, "He's right. I appreciate the thought, but that won't really be necessary."

Zack hums to himself before coming to an idea, "Hey, how about one date?" He asks, shocking the both of them, Aqua clearly the more shocked of the two.

"Huh!?" She gasps, "Oh! You mean- No…" She says, waving her hands in front of herself frantically, "I have to leave right away…"

She looked to James for support, only to glare at him when she saw he was failing to hide a laugh from amusement at this scenario they find themselves in.

She turns back to Zack, "Besides, I still have so much training to do…" She says as she looks away, unable to make eye contact with the boy.

Zack shrugs, "Fair enough. And I'm still a work in progress, after all." He admits, "Well, how 'bout this-I become a hero, then we go on a date."

James lets out a spurt of laughter before clutching his mouth with both his hands, _"This is priceless!" _He thinks joyfully.

Aqua stiffens her shoulders, "I…I can't make any promises." She says, still not able to make direct eye contact.

Zack turns away, "Yes! Great, it's settled. Hero-hood, here I come!" And with that, he ran off. Allowing James to finally burst out laughing so hard that he falls on his sides, with a thoroughly irritated and embarrassed Aqua standing beside him.

"That was uncomfortable…"

James had regained his composure just as Herc was approaching the two of them, "Oh… It's over already? And I finished today's training in record time." He whines. He stops and notices that Aqua has a fierce blush on her face, "Uh, Aqua? What's wrong? Your face is red."

James had a huge grin on his face, "Yeah, Aqua. You're beat red. You feeling ok? Maybe I should ask Zack to-HURGH!" His mocking is halted by Aqua delivering a swift elbow to his stomach, making him arch over in pain, "Ok…I deserved that…." He groans.

Aqua clears her throat, "It's nothing!" She says before changing the subject, "You want to be a hero too, right? Strength alone won't make you into one."

Herc nods, "I know, I know. Strength alone won't make me a true hero. I'm starting to figure that out. I look at you and Zack, and I can tell there's something more."

Aqua smiles, "You've got strength in your heart, too. Never stop trying, and one day you might just become a true hero after all."

James and Aqua stood side by side, Keyblades at the ready and prepared to leave this world. As they did, Aqua had a warm smile on her face, _"Terra, you too. Keep fighting."_

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! So, the reason I'm so ungodly late is because I had gotten my hands on the DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3, so I had to do a dissecting playthrough to identify everything that was changed with the Remind DLC. I have decided that the Remind DLC will indeed be included into the series in due time. So, I do apologize that I took so long to upload. I'm going to try and rapid fire out the next few chapters. I'm super excited for the next main chapter, because Stitch is next and Lilo and Stitch is one of my favorite Disney movies ever. I'm trying to look into the long term of this, and there will be times when Jim will go with different Keyblade Wielders that will remain anonymous for now. Tell me in the reviews what movie/TV series events you'd like to see. I'm curious to see what worlds you want to see in this series. Right now, I'm saying this: No Marvel and no Star Wars. Anything else with Disney is fair game. Until next time, Please Review!)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Where Your Heart Belongs

James groans as he gets back up, "Geez! I was only teasing, Aqua." He complains. Aqua turns her head away, "Humph! Well it wasn't very funny." She says. James chuckles, "Maybe not. But ya gotta admit, it was weird. I've never seen you get so flustered before. It's like that was your first time getting asked out or something." He expected some sarcastic joke response, or even just a dirty glare, but instead, she looked away with a shy look in her eyes. James pieced this together and laughed, "Seriously?! And you gave me all that flack about not having been on dates before? That is priceless!" He says through his laughs. Aqua sighs, "Whatever. It's not like it even matters anyways." She says before walking over to sit down.

James follows her, "What do you mean?" He asks, sitting down next to her. Aqua pulls out her Wayfinder, "We need to find Ven and Terra. That's all that matters to me right now." James nods, "True. But what about afterwards? Have you thought about what you wanna do after we win?" He asks her, "You gotta admit, the idea of settling into a normal life, going on dates, finding part time work, that stuff does sound kind of appealing." Aqua hummed, "You know… you have a point. I guess would be kinda nice to just… be like the other girls." She confesses. James smirks, "So, you're gonna take up Zack's date?" He asks teasingly. Aqua shakes her head with a laugh, "No way." She says bluntly, "If I really am going to go on a date with someone then… I already know who I want it to be…" She says quietly as she ducks her head behind her knees to hide a blush. James cups a hand around his ear, "What is this?!" He asks in mock surprise, "Does my big sister have a crush on someone?" Aqua giggles and smiles at him, "Maybe." She tells him. James snickers, "I hope you realize that it is my moral obligation to hold this over your head until the day I die." He is suddenly put into a headlock by Aqua, "Oh no you won't!" She threatens jokingly as the two of them laugh together in their struggle against one another.

After they have sufficiently teased each other, they get up and prepare to make for the next world. James smiles brightly, "Ya know… I'm really glad we came here. It gave me a lot of hope for Terra." Aqua nods, "Yes. I've always had faith in him, that he would conquer the Darkness inside of him, and prove to Master Eraqus that he's worthy of being a master." James nods back, "No doubt. He won't let the Darkness take him. He'll fight it with everything he's got. That's just the kind of guy he is!"

James and Aqua stood side by side, Keyblades at the ready and prepared to leave this world. As they did, Aqua had a warm smile on her face, _"Terra, you too. Keep fighting."_

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Hope you like that I got this one out fast for y'all. It's on the short side, I know, but these are just fillers to add a little extra to the characters anyways. I am already working on the next chapter, and should have it up in 24 hours from now at the most. If you have any comments or suggestions, please don't hesitate to bring them to me. Read and Review!)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Deep Space

As they both flew through the Realm Between Worlds, their Keyblade Gliders were suddenly thrown off balance due to a massive ship flying past them. In desperation to prevent themselves from crashing, which would result in almost certain death, they managed to guide themselves close enough for them to board the ship.

James fell to his knees as his armor left his body, "Well that was an experience I do not wish to do ever again." He says.

Aqua nods with a sigh, "Yeah, that was way too close." She then looked over to a nearby window, "Where do you think they're going?"

Suddenly, an alarm began going off, and the two of them noticed Unversed running through the corridors of the ship. The two shared a glance at each other and nodded in silent agreement before rushing off after them. The horde of Unversed were smaller than usual, and easy enough to be taken down quickly.

Aqua sighs as she recalls her Keyblade, "Is there any world they haven't found?" She asks.

James looks grimly at their surroundings, "Who knows? I just hope we can figure out the source of-huh?" He says as he notices something on the ground.

Aqua follows his gaze and gasps slightly before picking it up, "This looks like the Wayfinders… But how did it get here?" She asks.

James hums in thought, "And who does it belong to?" Just then, a small, blue creature leaps up and snatches the Wayfinder out of Aqua's hand. James gets on guard immediately and summons Starlight while Aqua summons her own Keyblade and they stare down the growling creature.

Whatever he was, he was easily unlike anything either of them had seen before. He had two large eyes that were narrowed at them, four arms-two of which were clutching the Wayfinder, a pair of antennae on his head, and, what appeared to be, a second spine of some sort. Aqua speaks softly, and slowly, "Tell me, where did you get that?" She asks.

The creature's eyes immediately hone in on James and Aqua's Keyblades and he snarled at them before his ears shot up, "Come out, you little trog!" Said a deep voice. The creature instantly became nervous and dashed away.

James scratches his head, "Well that was weird. It almost seemed like he recognized our Keyblades."

Aqua nodded, "You don't think he's already seen Terra or Ven, do you?"

He shrugs, "It's possible, I guess."

"You there." Says the deep voice from earlier. The two turn and are briefly shocked to see a massively tall humanoid whale man looking about, "Has Experiment 626 passed through this area?" He asks them.

Aqua looks up in confusion, "I don't understand. Experiment what?" She asks.

The whale man narrows his eyes at her, "Don't be dense." He says warningly, "Dr. Jumba Jookiba's genetic abomination-626! Small? Blue? Vicious?"

Aqua's eyes blinked in recognition, "Him? But he didn't look vicious."

James nodded, "Yeah. A little jumpy and possessive, maybe. But not vicious."

"Ah. So, you have seen him!" The whale man says.

Aqua nods, "Yes, he's in the ventilation system." She tells him.

"If he's as vicious as you say he is, then my guess is he'll probably try to cut the power." James adds.

The whale man turns away, "Blast! He got away again." He begins to walk away but stops suddenly and turns back towards Aqua and James, who were making their own way back, "Hold it right there. Why don't I know you two? What section are you from?"

Aqua's eyes showed a brief instance of panic, "Um, I'm…" She hesitates.

James sighs before turning to face the whale man with his hands in the air, "We're accidental stowaways, sir. Our apologies for intruding. I assure you; we mean no harm to you or this vessel."

The whale man draws his blaster, "Oh, is that right?" He says sarcastically.

James nods, "We noticed some monsters aboard the ship beyond this Experiment 626. We happen to be experts at dealing with such beasts. We'd gladly offer our assistance, if you wish it."

The whale man snarls quietly, "You both are to come with me at once." The two nodded and allowed themselves to be escorted away.

As they approached a door way, a woman's voice was heard, "What is the meaning of this?" She asks, "Captain Gantu, did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives immediately?" Gantu shirks slightly, "Yes-and I will have them in custody soon." He assures her, "They'd be locked up already, if those wretched monsters would just-." He stops himself, "I mean, if I hadn't uncovered these potential stowaways."

Aqua and James step forward, "We weren't trying to sneak aboard. My name is Aqua."

James bows, "And I am James. Our transports had been thrown off balance because of your ship passing by. We were forced to board, otherwise we'd have pulverized each other."

Aqua nods, "And those monsters-we were following them. Please, we can handle this threat. Just give us a chance."

James raises his hand, "Perhaps if we show you." He then summons Starlight, "The weapons that Aqua and I carry are the only ones that can stop them."

The woman looks at the two with intrigue, "Our weapons are of no use against them?" She clarifies as she looks back to Gantu, "Is this true?"

Gantu looks nervous, "Well, we haven't explored all our options-."

"Nor do we have time to." She cuts him off, "We are fortunate you are here, Aqua and James. Your assistance would be most welcome."

Gantu steps forward by one step, "But Grand Councilwoman, you can't honestly believe what these two stowaways say?"

The Councilwoman glares at him, "I think you'll find I can." She says pointedly before continuing to speak with Aqua and James, "We have a crisis. Jumba and 626 remain at large… and these monsters are obstructing attempts to apprehend them." She then looks back at Gantu, "Or did I mishear your last excuse as to why you've again failed to carry out your duties, Captain?"

James sweat-drops, _"Jeez! This woman sure is blunt."_ He thinks to himself.

She looks back to the Wielders, "Will you help us?" She asks.

Aqua smiles, "Of course."

James bows, "We'd be honored."

"Then might I make one other request?" The Councilwoman asks, "Should you happen upon our fugitives…" A picture appeared on a monitor, showing 626 and, what must have been, Jumba, "please do whatever you can to apprehend them intact."

Aqua's smile falters, "You want us to capture Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626?"

James exhales through his nostrils, "Can't say about Jumba, but the little guy's fast. It'll be difficult, but still do-able, I suppose." He thinks aloud.

"But you can't just-That's my job!" Gantu objects.

The Councilwoman shakes her head, "You had your chance, Captain Gantu. Now you will stand down and await orders." Gantu's only response, was to groan. "We will monitor the location of the monsters and keep you apprised. The same goes for those creatures you mentioned. Thank you for your help Aqua, James."

James bit his lip to stop himself from speaking, _"626 and Jumba, monsters? That's pretty harsh. Are they really as bad as she thinks they are?"_

Aqua nods, "Of course." As the two of them left, Aqua whispered to James, "Experiment 626 was carrying a Wayfinder. I'd know that shape anywhere."

James glanced at her, "Agreed." He whispers back, "Question now is, are Terra and Ven here, too?" She did not answer, but the hope in her eyes spoke volumes.

The Grand Councilwoman informed them that the Unversed were currently in the prison block and just outside the transport ship, so Aqua and James rushed in that direction to intercept them. When they arrived, they split up. Aqua donned her armor and defended the outgoing ship, while James wiped out the Unversed still in the immediate area.

After each of their respective battles ended, James and Aqua made a rendezvous at the airlock, "The inside is clear." James tells her.

"So's the outside, but while I was out there, I found this." She held out the Wayfinder 626 had been carrying around, "Think he'll come to us for it, like he did last time?"

James smirked, "Most likely. But let's try and talk with him before we do anything else." He says, surprising Aqua, "Call it a gut feeling," he says, "but I'm just not convinced the little guy is as bad as the councilwoman thinks he is."

Aqua hummed, "Well, if you really think so, then I guess it's worth a shot." She tells him. He smiles at her, and they continue to search the ship.

The two of them walked down the aisle of the prison section, keeping their guard up for 626 or Jumba. Sure enough, they found 626, but he appeared distressed. He was frantically searching the ground around him for something. He was so focused on his search, he didn't notice the Unversed were about to ambush him, "Lookout!" Aqua and James yell in unison as they cross slash them all. They land in front of 626 and recall their Keyblades.

Aqua smiles at him, "You must be Experiment 626." She says, "We have orders to take you in."

626 shocks the both of them with his response, "Terra."

James stepped forward, "You know our friend?" there's no time for a response, sadly, because another horde of Unversed appear.

Aqua summons her Keyblade, "But first things first."

James summons Starlight, "Can we count on you to have our backs, little guy?"

626 nods, "Ih!" And draws four pistols out and points them at the Unversed.

Once they were all taken care of, James and Aqua recalled their Keyblades once again. "Thanks." Aqua tells 626.

James nods, "Yeah, we owe you one." 626 doesn't respond and resumes his search again.

"What is it you're looking for?" Aqua asks.

626 turns around, "Ter…ra…" he says before jumping away.

"Wait! I just need to ask you-!" But it was too late, 626 had already scurried out of reach. Aqua sighed in defeat, "Not again…"

James puts his hand on her shoulder, "Let's head back to the Grand Councilwoman and figure out our next move." He tells her. She nods and they begin the way back.

After reporting the defeat of the Unversed, the Councilwoman speaks, "Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626 have been sighted." She tells them, "At that time, the two of them were wandering around the launch deck. Would you see that they're secured?"

James looks at the council woman, "Forgive me, but is Experiment 626 really that dangerous?"

The Councilwoman lowers her head, "We must assume so."

James' eyes widen, "You mean he hasn't committed a crime?!"

Councilwoman turns away, "The abomination was abducted shortly after its creation. After learning of its capabilities, we have sentenced it to exile on a desolate asteroid."

At this point, James was all but seething in rage as Stardust flashed into his hands, startling everyone in the room. He then tosses Starlight away from him and holds up his fists, as if he were being shackled, "I'm officially turning myself in." He says.

The Grand Councilwoman eyes him, "And what, exactly, is the crime you are confessing to?" She inquires.

James stares straight into the Councilwoman's eyes, "I am found guilty of the same crime committed by Experiment 626. Existence." Councilwoman's eyes widen as he continues, "I exist, and also have capabilities that have the potential to be dangerous. As such, I am to be branded a monster and treated as such without any sort of proper judgement. That is your definition of justice, isn't it?"

The Grand Councilwoman maintained her composure, "Unlike 626, you have proven you use your talents for the cause of good."

"And what chance was he given?" James spits back, "What opportunity did you give him to prove whether or not he's truly evil? Tell me!" The Councilwoman gave him no answer. He sneers, "Fine. But I won't condemn 626 to exile until I see proof that he's as evil as you say he is!" He then summons Starlight back to his hand and runs out the door.

"Jim! Wait up!" Aqua shouts as she follows suit.

Aqua found James panting and on his knees a few yards away from the room they were just in. Aqua rested against his shoulder for support as she caught her breath, "Jim…. What was that…. Back in there?" She asks.

"It's not right!" James shouts, "I get that 626 CAN be dangerous! But that doesn't automatically mean he IS dangerous! I hate this! Judging someone without proper evidence or anything infuriates me to no end!"

Aqua kneels down to look at him on eye level, "I understand, really I do. I don't like it any more than you do. So, let's find 626 and learn for ourselves whether or not he really is dangerous." James nods and the two of them make their way to the launch deck.

Once they arrived, they saw Jumba walking towards 626, "Is time to give up." Jumba tells him, "Then I will fix abnormality and ridiculous behavior stops."

"Nugee shdigiba! Maga shijima!" 626 responds angrily.

The two of them drop down and approach, "Hold it right there!" Aqua says, "Dr. Jumba! Experiment 626… We've been authorized to take you into custody."

626 sees the strange Wayfinder and leaps at her, "Terra!" he shouts as he snatches it from her hand again. When he has the Wayfinder, 626 cuddles it close to his face and makes an indiscernible noise that showed happiness.

James smiles, "So it was your Wayfinder, after all."

"But… where have you seen that shape?" Aqua asks.

Jumba approaches them, "Is copy he made of good luck charm that boy Terra show to him." He explained, "Terra said friend gave him charm, was very protective of it."

Aqua eyed Jumba with interest, "He really said that to you?" She asked him.

Jumba nods, "Yes." He answers.

Aqua looked away, and James noticed a hint of rosiness painting her cheeks, "Then you're still all right, Terra."

James smiles warmly, _"Called it."_

"And now, because of Terra and his little bauble…" Jumba continues, "my genius creation is hesitating in genetically programmed destructive instincts. Just look at him." He says with contempt. 626 jumps slightly when a blaster shot hit right beside him. All eyes moved to see Gantu as the one who fired.

Aqua glared at him, "What are you doing? Our orders are to capture them alive!"

James summoned Starlight, "This explanation better be real damn good!"

"I've decided to take a new approach. All right, you two… Any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?"

626 glared at Jumba and shouted, "NALA PATOOKIE!"

Gantu grits his teeth, "I am just big-boned!" He responds before jumping down to their level.

James lowered into his stance, "626! Get to cover! Aqua, make sure Jumba doesn't escape! I'll take Gantu!" He said as he moved to intercept Gantu, "Stop it!" He demands.

Gantu holds his ground, "I warned you. Stay out of it!"

James smirks, "Guess we have to do this the hard way, blubber butt!"

Gantu fires a shot, but James dashes closer and strikes Gantu's knee, causing him to reel back in pain. "Agaba!" 626 shouts out, "Ikki bobo!" He leaps onto James' arm and crouches.

"I don't know what you're saying, but I get the picture!" He says as he hurls 626, who latches onto Gantu's face and slams the giant to the ground, letting James jump up high and take aim, "Blades of the Round!" He says as he launches the Shotlock. Gantu rolls out of the just in time, but 626 tackled his side, leaving him open for James' next Sonic Blade attack. James then backflipped away, "Thunder!" He shouted as he was in the air. Lightning struck Gantu's hand, forcing him to drop the blaster as James landed his feet on the wall and pushed himself hard enough to rocket towards Gantu and deal one final blow to the head to send Gantu toppling to the floor.

Gantu pushes himself back onto his feet, "I'm not done with you yet." He says before the Grand Councilwoman shouted, "Enough!" As she walked towards James and Gantu.

Aqua arrives as well, with an arrested Jumba along with her, "I observed everything on the monitor.

Gantu turned to her, "I…I can explain!"

But the Councilwoman ignored him and marched straight towards James, "You've been of great service, James." She turns behind her, "You as well Aqua. Thank you." Neither of them said anything. They simply gazed at 626 with sadness, knowing that the Councilwoman's mind has likely not been changed. "Captain Gantu." She says, "Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he's been banished. When you return, you're back on patrol."

Gantu's shoulders slumped, "Not patrol!" He whines.

As the Councilwoman is walking away with Jumba and 626, Aqua looks to them, "Please, Your Highness. Would you consider sparing Experiment 626?"

The Councilwoman turned to face Aqua, "Spare him?" She echoes in surprise, "He's an extremely dangerous creature. I cannot release such a menace."

James felt his anger rise again, but bit his tongue. He knew lashing out in anger now wouldn't do 626 any good.

Aqua stood firm, "But it seems to me he's at least trying to make friends." She says, sending a smile in 626's direction, "And dangerous or not… I really believe he can succeed."

The Councilwoman approaches the two of them, "Very well, Aqua. If he behaves himself, I will consider shortening his exile."

Aqua bows her head slightly, "Thank you, Ma'am." James and Aqua both walk over to 626, and each place a hand on his Wayfinder as 626 looks up at them, "I like the charm you made." Aqua tells him.

James nods, "Yeah, it looks great. And I can tell that you really put your heart into making it."

Aqua leaned her head forward a bit more, "Do you think maybe… our circle of friends could become part of yours?" She asks him, "My name is Aqua, and he's my friend Jim. Our other friends are Terra and Ventus."

626 nodded at her, "Ah-koo, wah, Jim, fren… Terra… Ven."

Aqua and James smile at him as they both stand back up, "I hope I get to see you again, 626. It's really great to know you." 626 offers a smile and continues walking away with Jumba and the Grand Councilwoman.

Not long after and the two of them are flying away from the ship on their Gliders. James looks over to Aqua, "He's safe, you know."

Aqua looks in his direction, "Who is?" She asks.

"Terra. If he was at risk of falling to the Darkness, then the Wayfinder wouldn't mean anything to him. So, let's catch up with him, and tell him we're sorry for doubting him."

He didn't see it, but Aqua was smiling under her helmet, "Yes!" She says excitedly.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! I'm not gonna be able to upload another chapter tomorrow, mainly because I need to let my brain refresh. Also, no short side-chapter for this world, simply because I couldn't figure out how to make it work properly. I really enjoyed making this chapter and look forward to implementing Stitch into the series again later. Until then, Aloha!)


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Disney Town

(A/N: Here's the next chapter for you guys! Thanks so much for all your support, it really means a lot to me. I was kinda concerned this chapter might be too short, since it's technically an optional level of the game. But I was happy to see that it was about standard for this series.)

James and Aqua had decided to head to Disney Town, thinking they might run into Terra and Ventus since they were all given passports. And as they walked down the street, they suddenly heard someone land behind them, "Tada!" The obese man said dramatically. He was dressed up in a strange outfit that resembled a child's superhero costume, "Wearin' the mask of peace and hope…" He spins around to face Aqua and James, "comes the fearless defender and hero of this town! It is me-Captain Justice!" He declares, striking a variety of ridiculous poses as he does so.

Aqua tilts her head, completely baffled, "Huh?"

James shakes his head, "What in the world is this guy on about?" He mutters to himself. The two of them turn away from Captain Justice and resume their path.

Captain Justice stomps his foot, "Wha-Now listen, you, pip-squeaks. I'm Captain Justice! Who are you to walk away whenst a bona fid hero is offerin' his help?"

James looks back at him, "Uh… we appreciate the offer, Captain. But I'm afraid we're not in need of any help." He tells him politely.

Just then, someone in the distance shouted out, "Somebody, come quick!" A horse Anthromorph stumbled in with panted breaths.

Captain Justice, Aqua and James hurried to the man, "What's that? Trouble?" Captain Justice says, "Captain Justice to the rescue!"

The man looks up at Captain Justice and then immediately looks back down in disappointment, "You? Well, now that's a shame…" He says before looking back up, "Or is it? Maybe this job's perfect for you, Mr. Hero."

Captain Justice leaned forward, "What!? Name your catastrophe!"

Aqua leans over to James, "Should we be worried about this guy?" She whispers.

James shrugs, "Can't say for sure. But we should probably help out too, just in case." She nods in agreement.

The horse man stood up, "Those annoyin' monsters have turned up again over in Fruitball Plaza. They're all yours now, Captain J."

James and Aqua glanced at each other and instantly knew the monsters were the Unversed.

Captain Justice's eyes widen, "Monsters!? Well… too bad. Not on the list." He says.

James shoots his head in Captain Justice's direction, "What?!" He says in disbelief, "I thought you were the 'fearless defender and hero of this town' or whatever. True heroes don't get to pick."

Captain Justice turns to him, "But I wouldn't stand a chance of survivin'-." He cuts himself off, "er, of fittin' em into my schedule." He corrects.

"Gosh," the horse man said, "I thought you said you were Captain Justice. You can't leave those menacing things runnin' loose. They're ruining Fruitball!"

But Captain Justice ignores him, "Huh? Hark, do you hear that?" He says, "Somebody's callin' for Captain Justice's help! Do not fear! I am on my way!" He then dashes off to who-knows-where.

Aqua turns to the horse man, "We're anything but heroes, but maybe we could help, if you want." She offers.

The horse man smiles, "Would you? Oh, that'd be just jim-dandy!" He says happily, "Someone needs to trounce those fiends at Fruitball… and keep 'em away from the plaza."

Aqua nods, "We'll try."

James smirks, "Don't worry. We'll handle those monsters."

When the two of them volunteered to beat the Unversed, they didn't realize they'd have to beat them at a game called Fruitball. Luckily, the horse man was kind enough to explain the rules of Fruitball. It was essentially soccer, with various types of fruits acting as the ball. The two of them stood in the arena with their Keyblades drawn.

James steps back, "I'll focus on defending our goal, so you can score without worry." He tells her.

Aqua smiles, "Thanks Jim! Now let's play ball!"

The match was very chaotic. The different fruits bounced around wildly with no real way to control where they went. James managed to block almost any fruit that tried to score a goal, while Aqua kept launching fruit towards the Unversed goal. The match was in a bit of dead heat for the majority of the time, but after the second half, Aqua and James seemed to have found a rhythm that worked well and they pulled ahead by several points, with the Unversed struggling to keep up, despite the close call with a few lucky scores for the Unversed.

In the end, Aqua and James won the match with a final score of sixteen to fourteen. Aqua smiles as the Unversed dissipate, "That settles that."

James nods, "That was kinda fun! Wouldn't mind doing that again sometime."

The horse man looked at them in awe, "My, you sure taught those monsters a lesson." He tells them, "You're the real heroes in town, if you ask me."

Just then, a female Anthro mouse alongside a gold furred dog approached. The woman was wearing an elegant pink dress and looked up at the two who stopped the Unversed, "He's right, my dears. I couldn't agree more. Thank you so much." She says.

Aqua eyes her curiously, "Who are you?" She asks.

"I'm Minnie." The lady answers.

"And she's our queen." The horse man adds.

Both James and Aqua flinch and get down on one knee, "Oh, please excuse me, Your Majesty. Where are my manners? My name is Aqua." Aqua chides herself.

James bows his head, "And I am James, but most people call me Jim. We were happy to help."

Minnie approaches the two of them, "There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Minnie." She assures them. The two of them rise to their feet as Minnie looks away with a depressed sigh, "You see, I'm not sure I'm doing a very good job protecting my kingdom." She confesses.

The Horse man shakes his head, "Oh, don't say that, Queen Minnie." He assures her, "We all know how hard it's been since the King set off the way he did. Don't you trouble yourself. Why we wouldn't even think of putting on our yearly Dream Festival if we thought there was the slightest chance anything might go wrong."

Minnie turns to face him, "Oh, you're very kind, Horace." She says sweetly.

Horace turned away and folded his arms, "How 'bout that Pete, though? Captain Justice my hide! You can't count on him for anything."

Aqua blinks, "Wait… You're saying his real name is Pete?"

Horace nods, "Well, it sure as sugar isn't 'Justice.'"

James rubs his head, "If everyone knows who he is, then what's with the getup he was wearing?"

"Pete never does anythin' for anybody except Pete. That getup is just an act, to get folks to vote for him. He wants to win the Million Dreams Award and hog the prize." Horace explains.

Aqua tilts her head slightly, "Million Dreams Award? What is that?"

Minnie gestures the town around them, "It's part of our Dream Festival." She tells them, "We all vote for who we think the most admirable citizen is. But Pete seems to have the wrong idea. He thinks that dressing up as a hero and proclaiming that he is one will win him votes." Minnie looks to the ground, "What really makes someone a hero isn't what they wear or what they say-it's the things they do and how they treat everyone."

Horace walks up and takes Aqua's and James' hands, "Well, in my book, Aqua and James here are number one. You've got my heartfelt vote." He says.

James smiles, "Wow, uh… thanks a lot Horace." He says.

Aqua smiles as well, "Thanks, Horace. I promise I'll try not to let you down."

Horace nods, "See that you don't! My vote's very important." He says.

Minnie giggles, "Oh dear, he sounds serious."

James and Aqua share a laugh as he slings an arm around her shoulder, "Well if anyone can be depended on, it's my big sis!"

Aqua blushes and shoves James off, "Jim! Knock it off with that! It's embarrassing!" She complains, generating a laugh from everybody. Aqua groans, "Being popular is tough." She jokingly complains.

The award ceremony was about to begin, so Aqua and James chose to stick around and see who won the prize. The entire town was present, everyone muttering to each other about who they thought would win the Million Dreams Award.

Minnie walked onto the stage, "Hello, everyone, and thank you for waiting." She says with a smile, "Now, it's time to begin the main event of our Dream Festival-the Million Dreams Award presentation." The crowd looked on in anticipation, "Oh, how very exciting!" She says as she reads the winner, "This year we have multiple winners. The Million Dreams Award goes to…" she paused for effect, "Ventus, Aqua, James, and Terra. All four of you!"

As the audience applauded them, James and Aqua were shocked, not that they won-they didn't really care about the prize- but that Ventus and Terra had been here as well.

"You mean Ven and Terra were here?" Aqua asks.

James looks around, "Does anybody see them?"

Just then, Pete rushed up to the stage, "Whaddaya mean!?" He shouts, "There's gotta be a mistake. Everybody voted for Captain Justice. I made sure!" He turns the crowd, "Now go on, tell her!"

He was only met with boos from the crowd.

Pete groaned in frustration before having a realization, "Better try the other one…" He says before rushing off and immediately rushing back in a different costume, this one being black, "The rogue racer, Captain Dark!"

Another round of boos was heard.

Minnie glared at the intruder, "Pete, we counted the votes very carefully. Ventus, Aqua, James and Terra won." She states firmly, "Oh, Pete, I think you tried to do something good, but you were doing it for the wrong reasons, and you went about it the wrong way. Still, a couple of citizens must have thought you had goodness in you, because you actually got a few votes."

James' ear quirked at this, _"Who the heck would vote for that mess of a man?"_ He wondered.

"They knew you were looking out for them." Minnie finishes.

Pete glares, "Big whoop! I don't need their lousy votes. Just cough up my prize!" He says, reaching for Minnie.

"Pete!" Minnie screams, halting his hand, "They voted for you because they believe in you and care about you." She chastises, "How could you look down on that? I've tried to forgive a lot of things you've done, but this is too much. Now you've finally crossed the line."

Pete's fists began shaking, "Like that matters to me. Besides, what are you gonna do about it?"

James leapt onto the stage and summoned Starlight, "Say the word, Minnie, and I'll knock this poser down a peg!" He says, entering his battle stance. Aqua doesn't join the fray, her attention is focused on trying to spot Terra or Ventus, but keeps listening on the situation in case she's needed.

Minnie shakes her head and walks past James, "Your chivalry is appreciated, dear, but I shall handle him another way." She glares at Pete, "I'm going to let you cool off for a while. Guards!"

Suddenly, Pete was surrounded by sentient broomsticks. They lifted Pete up into the air, "Hey! Let me go! Put me down! What!? You can't-no-hey, easy!" He shouts as they escort him away.

Minnie turns back to the crowd with a smile, "Now, shall we continue the ceremony?" She says, "Would the three remaining winners, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra, please come up and join James and I on the stage?" James smiled, hoping that this would be his chance to apologize to Terra and Ventus. Sadly, only Aqua came up to the stage to stand beside James.

Minnie frowns slightly, "Oh dear, it looks like our other two winners couldn't make it here to be with us today."

James and Aqua both become disheartened by this news, "We must have just missed them." Aqua mumbles.

James clenches his fist, "They're always just out of our reach…"

Minnie turns to Aqua and James, "Perhaps the two of you would accept the award on their behalf. After all, you've been so kind to so many here at the Dream Festival. So now, I hereby present the Million Dreams Award… as a token of how much you matter to us. Congratulations!"

The crowd begins to cheer as Aqua and James smile at them, "Thank you, everyone!" Aqua tells them.

James waves at them, "We're truly honored." He says.

Minnie approaches them with two identical ice cream cones, "And as an extra treat, we've created something special-an ice cream flavor just for you. Royalberry ice cream!" She says as she offers the cones to the two winners. They accept them gratefully and take a bite from their respective cones. The crowd watches with baited breath for their reactions, "What do you think?" Minnie asks.

Aqua's smile is beaming, "Delicious! You couldn't have picked a better flavor."

James nods, "Absolutely. It's the best ice cream I've ever tasted!"

Minnie giggles, "We're all very glad you're enjoying it."

Shortly afterwards, they said their goodbyes and made their way to the next World.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Sad to say, there will not be any more side-story chapters for this book, as we are now at the point where the plot starts escalating rapidly. We're nearing the conclusion, so be sure to stay tuned. And please, send me any suggestions for worlds you'd like to see come up in later books. I've gotten some interesting ideas from you guys in the past and would love to hear more of your thoughts. Until then, Read and Review!)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Neverland

Aqua and James land on a massive island, with a seemingly endless ocean on all sides. Lush jungles and forests cover the entire expanse. Aqua notices a piece of paper and picks it up just as two young boys run up to them. James looks at the two boys, "Hey there. You guys lost or something?"

The two wine, "We were so close." The boy in fox skin says.

Just then, a voice speaks up from above them, "Too bad, men. Tough break." A boy falls to the ground in front of them, landing gracefully on his feet.

"But Pan!" The kids say.

A quick observation shows this Pan is older than the other two, but not by more than 2 or 3 years.

"No buts." Pan tells them, "You know the rules. The first one to find and claim the treasure map… gets to be the leader. And that's you." He says to Aqua.

Aqua simply tilts her head, "Leader?" She echoes.

The fox-skinned boy looks up at her, "Of the expatition!" He explains.

The other boy, wearing bear skin, nods, "Uhh, we're goin' on a treasure hunt. And that's our map you got!"

As Aqua and James examine the map more closely, a small, glowing woman floats down on her wings and approaches Pan angrily, but no words come out, only jingle sounds.

Pan quirks an eyebrow, "Whaddaya mean? I never said girls can't be part of the gang." He argues with her, "C'mon, Tink, the more the merrier!"

Aqua frowns at Pan, "I'm sorry, but we have something else we need to take care of."

James nods, "We appreciate you willing to let us in on your game, but we simply don't have the time."

Aqua offers the map to Pan, "Here, you keep it."

Tink nods in agreement, but Pan crosses his arms, "Too bad… but rules are rules." He says, angering Tink again, "I guess we'll just have to call off the treasure hunt."

"Nooo!" The two kids wine loudly.

The two kids look disheartened, and even Pan looks fairly disappointed. James leans closer to Aqua, "Ya know, we don't exactly know where to start. We could play along with these guys as a cover while we look for Ven and Terra."

Aqua mulls it over for a moment before sighing, "All right, you win. We'll join you for one 'expatition.'" She tells them. The two young boys become excited and cheer in joy.

With that decided, Aqua opens the map and she and James examine the map. James hums, "Looks like we might wanna take this pass here." He suggests, but Pan shakes his head.

"You're not the leader. Only she gets to make the decision." He chides.

James nods, "Uh… right, my bad." He apologizes, _"Far as I can tell, there's no Unversed here yet, but that could change at any time. I also haven't seen that Entity in a while. Last thing it told me was Daybreak…it couldn't possible mean…"_

He's broken out of his thoughts when Aqua starts speaking to Peter Pan, and the Lost Boys, "As far as I can tell, we're here." She says, pointing at a certain point on the map, "And this mark here is where we'll find the treasure."

The one dressed like a fox glares, "Enough pointin'. C'mon, let's go!" He complains.

Peter gestures for him to wait, "Wait a second. We still don't even know our leader's name! Or our new expatition team member." He says before smiling, "I'm Peter Pan. The jealous one over here is Tinker Bell. And you are?"

Aqua smiles back, "Aqua." She answers.

"And I'm James, but you guys can just call me Jim." He moves towards Tinker Bell, "And no need to be jealous, she actually already likes so-AGH!"

He's interrupted by Aqua grabbing his ear, "Didn't you learn your lesson last time!" She says with a blush of embarrassment.

Pan tilts his head, "What's this about now?" He asks.

Aqua huffs and shakes her head, "Never mind."

Pan shrugs, "Anyways, so you're Aqua and Jim!" He says, making her eyes widen and release James' ear as Peter starts floating, "Now, first stop-Mermaid Lagoon!"

Aqua blinks for a moment, "Oh, okay." She and James exchange looks at one another before he nods. Aqua clenches her fist for a moment before they make their way towards the lagoon.

As they approached the lagoon, they were intercepted by a man in a long red coat, with a sabre on his hip, "I have you now, Peter Pan! Today's the day I shall be rid of you forever!" He declares.

James looks back at Pan, "Friend of yours, I presume?"

Peter glares back, "I'm busy right now, Hook. We're on an expatition. Can't I show you up some other day?"

Hook stomps his foot, "You'll show me up now! Give back me treasure!"

James narrows his eyes, "Ok, seriously, who's that?" He asks.

Peter smiles, "Aw, that's just Captain Hook. He's a two-bit pirate codfish." He says as he walks away, ignoring the Captain.

Hook scowls, "I'll cleave you into two bits, boy! Smee!" He shouts before running for cover. The whole group suddenly gets on alert when a cannon ball lands 3 feet from them.

Aqua looks to the group, "We're sitting ducks out here. Run!"

James summons Starlight, "You guys get a move on, I'll draw their fire and give you an opening!" He says before leaping into the air to cleave a second cannon ball in half as the others run to a safe distance.

James nimbly dodges and avoids all cannon fire shot at him as he keeps up his momentum, focusing on picking up as much speed as he can manage. Finally, he's moving fast enough to dash across the ocean with enough force to bring up a massive wall of water. James raises Starlight high, "Freeze!" He shouts as he casts ice magic, freezing it into a wall of ice that blocks him from the cannon fire.

James returns back to the ground, "That'll buy us a bit of extra time, I better meet back up with Aqua!"

When he finds the others, Aqua rushes up to him, "Are you ok, Jim?" She asks.

He nods, "Yeah, I'm fine. I bought us some time, but I don't know how long. We'd better keep moving." Aqua nods and turns to see the Lost Boys have stopped moving and are looking straight up.

They approach the boys, "What is it?" Aqua asks.

The boy in bear skin points up at a huge mountain, "The mark on the map points all the way up there."

Peter shrugs, "Aww, relax. A little pixie dust, and we'll be there in a jiffy."

The boys turn to Peter, "But… we've never had to flied that high up before!"

The bear skinned boy tells him. The boy in the fox skin nods, "What if we fall?" He asks in concern.

Peter narrows his eyes at them, "Hey, when did you two turn into cowards?"

Aqua steps forward towards Pan, "Don't you think you're asking a bit much of them?" She asks.

James nods, "Yeah, that would be a long drop. Don't forget, they're just kids."

Peter doesn't even look at them, "This is between me and them, you guys." He says before folding his arms, "Men, only the bravest of the brave can claim that treasure."

They look down, "Yeah, we know…" The bear skin one says. The two of them turn and continue on their way.

Peter turns to Tinker Bell, "Tink, if you would?" He asks. But she has her back turned to him and refuses, "We haven't got all day!" He tells her. With a jingle, she flies towards the group and sprinkles golden dust on them. The boys quickly take off as they fly up the mountain side. Peter turns to them as he begins to take off, "Just think of a happy thought! It's that easy!" He tells them. Aqua closes her eyes and, soon enough, she begins to fly.

James attempts to do the same, but nothing winds up happening. He raises an eyebrow at himself and tries again, but nothing. He hums to himself, _"That's odd…. It worked for Aqua… I wonder what I'm doing wrong." _He decides to abandon the flying idea and use his agility to leap from one ledge to another until he reaches the top with the others.

As they walked, Aqua noticed something, "Hey, aren't we back where we started?"

The fox skinned boy looks around, "Ya mean we went all the way around Never Land for nothin'?"

Peter smiled at them, "Well, ya conquered all sorts of obstacles to get here. And to me, that's certainly not nothin'."

Aqua looks at Peter, "You know, I had you all wrong." She tells him, "You were just looking out for them back there. Being a good leader."

Peter's smile turns smug, "Yeah, of course I was." He tells her.

"You're too late, Peter Pan!" Hook shouts from the distance, with a treasure chest under his boot, "I'll be taking what's mine now."

Peter draws his dagger, "It's Hook!"

Hook smiles wickedly at the group, "Smee, secure me treasure." He instructs. Another pirate opened the chest and shrieked in alarm, causing Hook to turn his head back towards him, "What is it now?" He asks.

Smee turns to Hook with fear in his eyes, "C-Cap'n, it's the treasure. It's b-been…" He stutters.

Hook glares, "Spit it out, you idiot!" He screams as he looks at the chest and sees a variety of wooden toys. Hook gasps, "Odd's fish! It's all junk!"

Peter glared at the Captain, "Whaddaya mean, junk? Those are our treasures, Hook!"

"But what did you do with MY Treasure?" Hook demands.

The boy in bear skin looked at Hook, "Oh, we losted it all." He says.

Hook stomps his feet in frustration, "You what!? You scurvy brats have crossed me for the last time!" Just then, a ticking sound can be heard coming from the waters surrounding them, "Hmm? What's that? That sound…" Hook says with fear growing with each passing tick. All eyes move to see a Crocodile being the source of the ticking. The crocodile eyes Hook hungrily. "Not you again!" Hook says, "No, get away from me! Smee! Do something!" He then turns and runs off shouting, "SMEE!" leaving Peter, the lost boys, Tinker Bell, Aqua and James to laugh at the scene that just took place.

Moments later, the chest was recovered and the group was looking inside. James took one look and gasped, "Hey, Aqua, isn't that Ven's old practice sword?" He asks, pointing to a wooden sword made to look like a Keyblade, with the word "Terra" inscribed on the side.

Aqua picked it up, "It is…"

Peter nods, "Oh, Ventus left that here. I guess it's a special keepsake or somethin'. But don't worry about him. He said he would be all right without it. And then he promised to visit us again with even better treasures-maybe enough to fill a hundred treasure chests."

Aqua looked deeply at the wooden Keyblade, "Ven… He was here…" She says before jerking her head to the left, "And someone else." She says with less friendliness in her voice.

James narrows his eyes, "Vanitas…" He says quietly.

"what's the matter?" The lost boys ask.

Aqua turns to them, "It's nothing. Best that you stay here."

James nods, "She's right. This is something we have to do ourselves." The two then hurry in the direction that they sensed Vanitas.

The two of them rushed as quick as they could to a nearby clearing when they heard Vanitas speaking, "So, have a good time hanging out with the kiddies?" He asks as he walks to them with Ventus' practice sword in hand.

"How'd you get that?" Aqua asks.

Vanitas holds it up, "I think that kid's outgrown such a childish toy, if you ask my opinion." He then snaps the wood in half.

James glares and summons Starlight, "How dare you!"

Vanitas tosses the remains aside and summons his Keyblade, "Just like I've outgrown my need for you two."

Aqua's fists tremble in anger, "You freak!" She yells as she summons her Keyblade, "We'll make you pay for that!" And so, the battle begins.

Vanitas opens with a Dark Firaga, but James parries it while Aqua fires Prism rain. Vanitas gets hit and doesn't have time to respond as James uses Aeroga, but Vanitas used an after image to counterattack. Aqua intercepts with a Wishing Edge attack as James gets up and uses Thunder Raid.

Aqua and James continued to use flawless teamwork, but Vanitas was unshakeable. No matter what they did, they couldn't put the boy down.

Finally, though, James leaps up and raises Starlight to the sky, "Faith rain!" Countless streaks of light bombard Vanitas mercilessly for 80 seconds as James pushes himself to the limits of his power. When the assault finally ends, James and Aqua are panting heavily as Vanitas drops to the ground, his Keyblade dropping to the ground some distance past him.

Aqua drops to her knees in exhaustion. James wipes his brow, "That kid was tougher than I thought… Are you ok, Aqua?"

She nods, "We've done it… He's…. finally, … finished…" She smiles as James helps her back up and they walk over to the broken practice sword. Two steps later, however and the full extent of the fatigue takes affect and they both drop to the floor, losing consciousness.

As they slept, their minds went back to the night before the Mark of Mastery Exam.

_Flashback_

"_You'll find out someday, I'm sure." Terra answers. Ventus began to bicker with Terra about the subject, causing James and Aqua to start laughing. Terra glances over at them, "Hey, what are you two laughing at?" He asks. Aqua smiles widely, "We can't help it. You two would make the weirdest brothers." She says between laughs. James launches his shoulder around her, "Well we learned it all from our weird sister." He says, earning him a playful shove from Aqua in return. Meanwhile, Terra and Ventus just look on at the two completely lost as Aqua and James continue laughing. Soon enough, all four of them end up laughing together._

_Flashback end_

"Aqua! Jim!" They hear a voice calling. They open their eyes and see Peter Pan, crouching in front of them, "Are you two all right? What happened?"

James groans as he gets up, "We fought an old enemy of ours. It took more out of us than we thought it would." He turns to Aqua, "You ok?"

She gets to her feet, "I'm fine." She tells them.

Peter then looks over to the broken Keyblade replica, "Oh no! Look at Ven's treasure!" He says.

James scowls, "I still can't believe he did that!" He says through gritted teeth.

Aqua shakes her head, "It's okay, guys." She tells them, "Whatever it is that binds us together isn't going to break so easily…" James' hand instinctively goes to the Wayfinder around his neck, "and that's our real treasure." Aqua then goes and picks up the remains of the wooden blade, "I think Ventus knew that. That's why he left this behind."

Peter smiles, "You must really be close. And that's somethin' pretty special. You guys and Ventus… and Terra, was it?" He points out.

James nods, "Yeah. We're practically family."

Peter smiles wider, "One day you should all come back!"

Aqua turns to face him, "I'd like that."

James smiles, "Me too Peter. Me too."

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Sorry it took longer than the last few updates, I'm on the road at present, so uploading times will be a little weird. We're in the home stretch now! Are you guys ready? The finale for book 2 begins next time! Read and Review!)


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Ties That Bind Part 1

(2 things. 1: I apologize for being late, I was in the process of moving and was unable to get work done for quite a while. 2: I have to warn you that this chapter does contain content that represents severe memory-based trauma, if this sort of thing is sensitive to you, you have been given prior warning. Without further ado, please enjoy.)

James and Aqua are flying through the space between worlds looking for the next World when suddenly, a bright light starts shining in front of them, and getting brighter by the minute. "What's that light?" Aqua asks.

James shields his eyes, "It can only be one thing! A bequeathment!" He answers. Aqua has no time to ask more because the light transports them to a small island.

Aqua and James found themselves walking on a wooden bridge, "What is this world?" James asks.

Aqua shrugs, "I don't know. But it doesn't look like there are any Unversed here." She tells him.

James turns and sees a path to the other side of the island, "Yeah, well I'm gonna do a perimeter sweep just to be sure." He says as he walks off.

As he walks, he scopes out the place. It's a very small island with little room for no more than maybe two dozen occupants at most. As he walked, he felt a chill in the air that he had since come to recognize as the Entity. He summoned Starlight and turned to face his enemy, only to so shocked by their appearance, that he drops Starlight.

The Entity had chosen to take a more specific form this time.

They took the form of Master Ava of Union Vulpes.

James takes a shaky step back from the Entity, "Why?" He asks, "Why are you taking that form? What do you know about her!"

The Entity points at him, "Must… return… home…" They say dryly, "Back... to where…. all…. began…."

James glares, "What are you talking about?!"

The Entity summoned a weapon that mirrored the image of Ava's Keyblade, "Face… past… protect… future…" And just like that, the Entity vanishes into the shadows.

James fell to his knees, "Daybreak Town? That thing… wants me… to go back to Daybreak Town… but…" He pauses for a long time, until he eventually shook his head, "No." He says, letting out a shaky breath, "I… I can't… I can't go back there…" After re-composing himself, he gets back up and goes to find Aqua.

When he catches up with Aqua, he sees two young boys running just out of sight. He walks up to her, "Who were they?" He asks her.

She smiles at him, "They're Sora and Riku. I think they met Terra." She tells him, "I think you'd like Sora. He's like the spitting image of Ven." She then stops and takes a look at James' face and can clearly see something happened, "Are you ok, Jim?" She asks in concern.

James sighs and shakes his head, "It's nothing, I just… got stuck in my own head for a minute there." He says before summoning Starlight and donning his armor, "I haven't seen any sign that the Unversed being here, so let's hurry and keep searching for Ven and Terra."

She nods, "Yes."

The two returned to the space between worlds and resumed their search for their friends. As they fly side-by-side, James notices a light in the distance that they were fast approaching, "Aqua! What's that, dead ahead?"

Aqua leaned her head forward, "Is that… Mickey?" They got closer and saw Mickey unconscious, floating aimlessly in the void. James sped up and grabbed him as Aqua caught up, "How'd this happen?" She asks.

James nudges Mickey, "Hey! Mickey, can you hear us?" He calls out.

Mickey starts mumbling in his sleep, "Master Yen…Sid…" he mutters.

James looks to Aqua, "You know where he lives?"

Aqua nods, "Yeah, I can take us there."

James nods back and follows after her, "Hang in there, Mickey."

They arrived quickly at the Mysterious Tower and hurried up the stairs, meeting Master Yen Sid, as well as two Anthromorphs, Donald and Goofy, they called themselves. James set Mickey down gently on the floor as Goofy and Donald immediately rush over to him, "King Mickey." They say to him.

Meanwhile, James and Aqua are speaking with Yen Sid. "Aqua, James, the stars bring me grave news. Master Eraqus' star has blinked out. I am afraid that means he has been struck down."

James was shocked, but Aqua was completely speechless, "The Master? But- who is responsible?" She asks fearfully.

Yen Sid closes his eyes and lowers his head before looking back out his star-shaped window, "Master Xehanort…" He pauses, "and Terra."

James' eyes widen, "What?!"

Aqua shook her head furiously, "No!" She slams her hands on his desk.

James leans forward, "Terra was struggling sure but… he'd never turn his Keyblade on Eraqus!"

Aqua nods, "Jim's right, that's absurd!" She screams with tears welling up in her eyes, "Terra would never!"

Yen Sid simply turns back to face them, "I hope with all my heart that you are right about your friend. There are some things even the stars cannot tell me."

James' eyes narrow, "Xehanort! That old wretch is responsible, he has to be! He manipulated the guy, it's the only explanation!"

Aqua grit her teeth, "Where is he? Where can I find Terra?" She demands.

"Terra's heart is leading him to the ancient Keyblade Graveyard, where wielders of those weapons once waged war."

Aqua nodded, "All right. We have to go after him… and see if it's true. Are you-Jim?!" She asks in shock as she turns to see her friend.

It all rushed back to him.

All of it.

Every single detail.

All the things he had been suppressing for the last few years.

The moment Yen Sid mentioned the Keyblade Graveyard, it all shot to the surface. His body began to tremble, fingers twitching uncontrollably. Face sweating profusely. He mumbled the names of every wielder he killed during the war. He began hyperventilating even worse than when he was at the Dwarf Woodlands. Aqua shouted his name, shook him as hard as she could, but nothing could draw him out of the horror he was currently re-living. Everything around him felt like it was going black and he couldn't bring himself to fight it.

He nearly allowed himself to be consumed by his inner Darkness, when a voice spoke out in his mind, _"Don't give up now!"_

Inside James' Heart

James opens his eyes and the Darkness recedes away from him as he finds himself staring at Master Ava. "You can't afford to stop fighting now," she tells him, "not with everything at stake."

James shakes his head, "But, Master… what does it matter?" He asks her, "Nothing has changed! Keyblade Wielders turning against each other because of the Darkness corrupting us! Why should we bother to keep fighting if it always ends the same!?"

Ava smiles, "Because it won't always be that way. I have seen what will come. I have found the hope for Light. The one that will always stand against the Darkness no matter the odds." She walks closer to him, summoning her Keyblade, Vulpes, and places it in James' hand, "And that person is you."

James pushes the Keyblade back in her hands and steps back, "No! No, I can't… I can't do that again… I…"

Ava nods, "You are stronger than you realize. And one day," she places her Keyblade on the stained-glass-floor, "You will finish, what I started." She then rises into the air, getting enveloped by light, "For now, your friends need you. And I know you well enough to know that you won't abandon your friends. Go now, and May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key."

Back in the Tower

James finally jolts upward and looks at Aqua, who has been trying to get his attention for thirty minutes, "Jim! Are you ok? What's wrong? Talk to me, please!"

James stood up slowly on his shaky legs, his breath still deeply labored, "I… I know… that place…" He says slowly.

Aqua tilts her head, "You've been there?"

James shook his head, "No… I lived there."

He turns slowly to face her, "That world was once my home. Daybreak Town." He says as tears start pouring from his eyes, "All of them, everybody I killed… their all in that wasteland…"

Aqua didn't know what to do-didn't know what she _could_ do, so she simply stood there, offering what support she could as she let him get all this that he's been bottling up out of him.

Soon enough, he took a long, deep breath and nodded his head, "Alright. Let's go get Terra. And find out the truth." And so, they hurried on their way, to face the Destiny that awaited them all.

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! The finale is already being written so expect it to be up in about a week or so—I hope—from today. I apologize again for being late—and yes, I know I do that a lot, things have been very hard for me lately, but I'm pushing on and doing what I can for you guys. Lemme know what you think in a review. Later guys!)


	19. Finale

Chapter 19: The Ties That Bind Part 2

(A/N: Holy Hephalumps! I'm actually on time for once! Hope you enjoy the finale. It took me days to get right.)

The two of them stepped on the ground at the Keyblade Graveyard and James lets out a shaky breath as they look overhead a tall cliff, "I remember this spot." He tells her, "This used to be an elevated garden, so the flowers would get extra sunlight. The view was famous throughout the entire town… it was beautiful…"

Aqua nods then looks at him, "I'm sure it was. Jim, you don't have to do this. You can head back to Master Yen Sid and wait, I'll understand, really I will."

James smiles a bit, "Thanks, Aqua, that means a lot. But no, I have to be here." There's a small gust of wind blowing against them, "I owe it to all my old friends to see this through."

Aqua grabbed his shoulder, "You're not alone anymore Jim. You never will be again. The four of us will always be one."

James nods, "Yeah. Come on, let's go find Terra." He says as he leads her through the desolate battlefield.

James' grief and fears grow with every step. Each speck of land bringing back more and more memories of the War. Unversed had appeared, but none of them would approach. They just stood and watched. As if to make sure that James and Aqua wouldn't stray from their current course. Once they reached a certain clearing, James stopped in his tracks and gasped.

Aqua turned to him, "What? Are you ok?" She asks. This is not the first time she has asked that since they arrived.

She has seen him be sad, this wasn't that.

She has seen him angry, this wasn't that either.

His emotional state was so complex at the moment that she genuinely couldn't tell what was going through his mind at any point in this whole experience.

James summoned Starlight and fell to his knees, "This is where it all started." He whispers, just barely audible enough for Aqua to hear it, "This is where I first held Starlight in my hands and began my conflict with the Heartless." He clutches Starlight tightly, as if it's his lifeline.

Aqua offers a small smile, "That memory can't be all bad. I mean, it led to you eventually meeting Terra and I." She tells him, "No matter how dark the clouds may seem, there's always a silver lining peeking through for us to hold on to." James smiles at her, he nods, and they continue on their way.

Soon, they reached, what James refers to as, The Front Lines. A massive collection of rusted and broken Keyblades litter this area more than any other.

In the distance, they quickly spotted Terra and hurried over to him. Terra saw them approach, but did nothing. He made no effort to move toward or away from them as they got closer. He just stared back at them. Once the three of them were together, there was silence. Nobody quite knew what to say.

Aqua was the first to find her voice, "I was told… the Master was struck down." She tells him.

He gasped quietly, then averted his eyes to the ground, "Yes… that's right." He tells them, "I was stupid and helped Xehanort do it." Aqua's eyes widen as James' hands start to tremble as Terra continued, "The Master-he tried to hurt Ven." He pauses, "I only fought because I wanted to protect him." Aqua lets out a sigh as he keeps speaking, "But I was tricked. Xehanort set the whole thing up!" Terra says with a clenched fist, "All so he could awaken the darkness inside me." He turns to his friends, "You were right, Aqua- and so was the Master. I did need to be watched."

James put his hand on Terra's shoulder, "You were protecting your friend. If it were any of us, I feel we might have made the same choice. It's not your fault."

Terra offered him a nod, "I went astray-but no more."

Aqua looks down at her feet, "What else is darkness but hate and rage?" She asks, "Xehanort is feeding the dark fires within you- making you fight. You'll go astray again." She looks into his eyes with tears welling up in hers, "Tell me- how does that honor our Master's memory, Terra?"

He is about to answer when James speaks up, "Ven." He says. All eyes immediately move to see Ventus walking up to them.

When Ventus arrived, he looked down, "Xehanort wants me and Vanitas to fight, and make some kind of 'x-blade.'"

James' eyes narrow, "So that's his endgame." He mutters, "I can't believe the old man would be so foolish."

When everyone looks at him with a question hanging off their lips, he elaborates, "It's the original key. The weapon that all our Keyblades spawned from. It's also the counterpart to Kingdom Hearts. You control the X-blade, you control Kingdom Hearts. With that kind of power, there's no telling what Xehanort would be able to do… the only thing I do know, is that the four of us would never be able to stop him."

Ventus nods, "The Master said we can't let that happen… and he tried to destroy me for it." He looks at them all with sorrow in his eyes, "I still don't know exactly what it is, but… it scares me to death. Even just the thought of it."

Terra walks up and claps his hand on Ventus' shoulder, "Relax, Ven. We're here and we're gonna take care of you." He tells the young boy, Aqua and James nod in agreement.

Ventus offers a sad smile, "I may have to fight Vanitas after all. If I do, guys…"

He's interrupted by James, "Don't you dare finish that sentence." He says softly, "The four of us are together again. If we work together, Xehanort and Vanitas won't stand a chance against us. It'll never come to that. I swear to you."

Just then, the wind picks up, alarming the four of them as Xehanort slowly approached them. Emerging from behind him, was both Vanitas, and the Entity, still in the form of Master Ava. Vanitas and the Entity had their respective weapons in hand as they walked towards the group. James snarls, "I think we've let the three of them toy around with us long enough." He says through gritted teeth, "This place is littered with millions of Keyblades…" He summons Starlight, "What's three more?"

Ventus, Terra and Aqua nod as the four of them activate their Keyblade Armor and summon their Keyblades to battle.

Xehanort stretches his hand out to the rusted keys, "Behold…" He says, "These lifeless keys used to be full of power-united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat… as a great Keyblade War raged."

James stomps his foot, "Silence!" He shouts, "There was nothing great about what happened that horrible day! The closest of friends were forced to turn on one another due to the naiveite of their superiors!" He clenches his fist, "This is the resting place of the poor unfortunate souls who lost their lives over a pointless cause! You have no right to insult them with such grandeur!"

Xehanort smirked, "So… it is as I suspected…" He says with a wicked smile, "You were there. You are the last remnant of that bygone era."

James says nothing to the old man, cursing himself for giving his origin away so easily.

"And yet," Xehanort says, "You are more blind than your friends there to the truth. Countless Keyblade Wielders gave up their lives, all in search of one, ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me…" He points to Ventus, "X-blade!"

Terra and James are the first to charge. Xehanort uses his magic to re-terraform the battlefield around them, separating James from Terra as the Entity charged at him. With every clash of their blades, more and more became clear to James. With one quick push against the Entity, he finally learned the truth, "I get it now." He says, "I get what you meant all those times when you said home. You didn't mean this place. You…" he swallowed a lump in his throat, "You meant my Heart." The Entity dropped its battle stance, "You are the physical embodiment of all my regrets, all the people I feel as though I had failed." He raises Starlight again, "This will be the last time I fight on this dead World… I will overcome you, my darkness, right here and right now!"

James immediately dashes straight at the Entity, who blocks the attack at the last minute. The two stood there for a moment, each one pushing against the other, trying to gain leverage to take the advantage. Soon enough though, they leap away from one another and jump high into the air as the Entity unleashes a spinning attack that James narrowly blocks before parrying and attacking back with a thrust that the Entity also blocks.

The Entity and James exchange powerful blows with one another, neither being able to land a single hit on the other. With a downward strike, Entity breaks through James' guard and slams into him with a blow to his left arm, a thrust to his chest, and a downward blow to his head, sending him flying towards the ground with the Entity chasing after him. James regained his sense of balance in mid-air and recovered before pushing off the ground and back up to meet the Entity in battle.

They continue to clash, often with the Entity striking him away and James retaliating with small hits where he can land them. After successfully landing two consecutive blows to the Entity, they respond with a swinging attack that launches him away, and the clash resumes again. This time, James ducks under one of Entity's swings and lands a heavy blow to the stomach area, causing it to change form to Ephemir as the Entity went flying. James' eyes narrowed through his helmet, "Now that is just straight up not fair." He grumbles to himself before charging back into the fray. James dives down with a swing that Entity blocks and the two hit each other with such ferocity and raw power, that each clash sends them both hurdling back, causing them to charge and repeat the process seventeen more times.

James goes for a double thrust. The Entity dodges the first and parries the second, but James responds too quickly with a knee blow that they have to block, forcing them on the defensive until they find an opening and hammer James back with a fierce blow to his chest. He groans, grateful for the armor he's wearing, and charges straight back into the fray.

Unfortunately, the Entity moved first and crashed their blade against James' stomach, spun to bash his back with the bottom of their blade, and swerved back to the front for an upward slice that sent James flying. He lands on his feet just in time to get caught in a choke hold by the Entity. He narrowly escapes, only for the Entity to kick him with enough force to send him through one of the many walls that were created by Xehanort at the start of this battle. As he rises to his feet, he looks up and sees Ven's head in Xehanort's hand as he freezes the boy and drops him. Filled with added drive, he charges back at the Entity.

James blocked the Entity's attack and retaliated, but the Entity blocked that attack as their counter attack was blocked by James' follow up attack. James charges back at the Entity, who jumps over his attack and kicks his head, sending him back to the ground. He gets up and they both send a Flare spell at one another, causing a massive explosion that leaves both James and the Entity injured.

James' helmet falls from his head as he pants. The Entity's form changed once again, this time taking the form of Skuld. He rises to his feet and returns to the battle immediately, not giving his opponent a moment's reprieve.

Entity made the first attack, but James blocked it and launched his own attack that caused the Entity to stumble, "I won't let you beat me!" He lands another hit, forcing the Entity to change forms again, "I can't let you beat me!"

Another blow, and the Entity's form changes again, "My friends are counting on me!"

Another blow, "The believe in me!"

Another form, "THEY GIVE ME MY POWER!"

James hits the Entity with a continuous stream of Thundaga as the Entity's different forms are incinerated one after another. When the dust fades and the lightning vanish, the Entity's final form is revealed, and it's James' form.

Entity struggles to its feet, "Failed…. Them …" they say.

James nods, "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure if you're talking about Ephemir, or Aqua, but you're right. I held doubts about both of them, and that gave you your power. But now I know the truth. I know that my friends are always with me. Every last one of them!" Suddenly, all the nearby Keyblades rise and circle around James, "And together, we will win!"

With blinding speed, and overwhelming power, James showered the Entity with the Keyblades of his fallen friends. When the attack ended, the Entity had been destroyed, the remnants flowing into James. He staggered for a moment, before embracing it, as he was always meant to. A cape suddenly found itself on his Keyblade Armor, but he failed to notice it, as he hurried to save Ventus.

When he got there, he saw Aqua strike a man in a strange uniform. The man gasps for breath, "I keep forgetting-don't mess with Keyblade Wielders."

He reels his head back to narrowly dodge a fire ball shot by James, "Yeah it tends to be bad for your health!" He retorts.

The man smirks, "But you know what? That just means I made the right choice!" He then mumbled something inaudible and retreated. Aqua and James ignored the man and hurried back to Ventus.

The boy looked behind her and gasped, "Aqua!" He shouts, but it was too late. Vanitas swooped down from above and struck Aqua down. Enraged, James rushes forward, casting Curaga on Aqua as he passed by her and struck relentlessly at Vanitas.

As James struggled against Vanitas, his body worn from his battle with the Entity, Ventus struggled to get out of the ice he was encased in, "No!" He screams, gaining the attention of both Vanitas and James. They turn to see he returned to his feet. Vanitas scoffed before hitting James to the side. Just before blacking out, he saw Ventus clashing against Vanitas.

Some amount of time later, he can hear a voice calling out to him, "Hey! James, can ya hear me? Say something!" James recognizes the voice to belong to Mickey.

He groans and slowly sits up, "Mickey?" He asks still in a bit of a daze.

Mickey sighs, "Thank goodness you're alright."

James nods in agreement before seeing Aqua, still lying on the ground, "Aqua!" He shouts as he hurries to her side. When he reaches her, she wakes up with a jolt. James sighs in relief, "I'm glad you're okay, sis." He tells her.

She sits up and looks upward, "Ven!" She calls out. James and Mickey search around for any sight of Ventus, but there's no sign of him. Aqua finally sees him and smiles gratefully, "Oh, thank goodness. Ven!" She runs up to him, "You're safe!"

But she's cut off by James, who blocks her forward path, "Let him go, Vanitas! I know that's you!" Ventus' body summoned the X-blade into his hand and looked up at Aqua with Vanitas' eyes. Mickey and James summoned their Keyblades and prepared to fight back.

"That's not Ven!" Mickey says.

James nods, "He's right. They merged, except it looks like Vanitas is in control, at least for the moment."

Vanitas' clothing appeared over Ventus' body as he took on his combat stance, "Correct. I am not Ventus." Said a combination of Ventus and Vanitas' voices, "His heart has become a part of mine now." This news shocked the three of them, "This X-blade will open a door-one that leads to all worlds! Then, Keyblade bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them to for the light within Kingdom Hearts!"

James grits his teeth, "You what?! That's what you're trying to do? Start another Keyblade War?! Are you insane!? No amount of power is worth the amount of death you'd be causing!"

Aqua summons her Keyblade, "I'm sick of your nonsense! Give Ven his heart back!"

The three of them fought valiantly against Vanitas, but with the power of the X-blade at Vanitas' command, they were unable to beat him. But suddenly, the X-blade began to get warped and show damage. James noticed this and knew exactly what was going on. He smirked, "Guys! Ventus is fighting back right now, giving us all the help, we can! Hit him now!"

The three of them came together, and unleashed Faith flurry attacks that Vanitas struggled to defend himself, constantly getting hit by side shots before Mickey and James performed a Cross Slash so Aqua could blast him with a series of different Shotlocks. James raises Starlight and fires Union Ragnarök as Mickey shot a powerful beam of light magic on top of Vanitas.

Despite this, Vanitas still had power a plenty. One swipe of his blade sent such a powerful wave of wind at them that none of them could advance through it, and were blasted back, sent into all the different cliffsides, rendering them too weak to continue.

James fought against the overwhelming pain and fatigue as hard as he could, "I can't…. stop …. Here …. Ven …" Finally, though, his body gave out and he slipped into unconsciousness.

James groans and sits up slowly, finding himself in Yen Sid's chamber with Mickey and his two retainers, Donald and Goofy, looking over him. As soon as he regains his senses, he jolts to his feet, "Aqua? Ven! Terra!" He says, searching around for them, but not seeing them.

"I am afraid you will not find them here." Yen Sid tells him.

James walks in front of his desk, "What do you mean? Where are they? What happened!?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes, "I am afraid you will not find the answer pleasant." He warns the young man, "Terra has been taken by Xehanort, made into his new Vessel. Ventus' Heart has been fatally damaged in his battle with Vanitas. And has sought refuge in the Heart of one innocent enough to heal the damage, leaving Ventus himself, in a wakeless sleep. Aqua left to save Terra from Xehanort's dark fate, but alas, she failed. She now resides within the Realm of Darkness. A World far beyond your reach, Master James."

James staggers back a step, in shock, "Master?" He echoes.

Yen Sid nods, "Indeed. By confronting the Entity with absolute conviction and accepting the Hurt that it represented, you have proven yourself worthy, and earned the Mark of Mastery."

James grits his teeth, "Who cares about that? Where is Ven's body now? I have to protect it!"

Yen Sid shakes his head, "Before going to fight against Xehanort for Terra's body and Heart, Aqua took Ventus' body back to the Realm of Departure, and used Eraqus' Keyblade to transform the World into an impregnable fortress. Ventus is unreachable to any but the one who placed the spell upon Castle Oblivion."

There was a moment of silence before James raised his hand and removed the Wayfinder from his neck and dropped it on Yen Sid's desk, "Dispose of that for me, would you?" He asks, "It's nothing but an empty hope." He turns and walks towards the exit.

"What do you mean?" Donald asks.

James stops, "The Wayfinder is supposed to keep us all connected to one another. But look at us. The four of us are scattered to the winds. Everything that trinket represents is a lie."

He continues walking, "I hate the Keyblade. I hate the Heartless. I hate Kingdom Hearts. But I won't let anyone else suffer. I'll keep using this damned weapon until my last breath. I owe them all that much, at least."

(A/N: That's it for this book! James once again finds himself the sole survivor, but this time he isn't even offered the mercy of defeat. Now he wanders the stars, fighting the Heartless wherever he deems necessary. Will he be able to recover his lost faith in friends once again? Or has he been burned for the last time? Tune in for the next book "The New Key" coming in two weeks. If anybody has questions about this book, any unresolved mysteries that I accidentally left unresolved, lemme know and I'll do a Q&A chapter to help fill the holes. I hope you have enjoyed this series so far, I certainly am. Thanks your patience and I'll see ya in the next story.)


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